


Experience A New Life

by NicholasFlamelFan



Series: Experience A New Life [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Abusive Dursley Family, Bad Dumbledore, Elena Gilbert Bashing, F/M, Female Harry Potter, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Out of Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2019-02-21
Packaged: 2019-04-29 21:03:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 47
Words: 116,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14481123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NicholasFlamelFan/pseuds/NicholasFlamelFan
Summary: Angel Potter was in the graveyard fighting Lord Voldemort during the Triwizard Tournament when their spells hit at the same time and something happened that sent Angel to another dimension, she gets found by the Gilbert family and becomes Elena and Jeremy sister. Idea adopted from time-twilight (Fanfiction).





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [timetwilight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/timetwilight/gifts).



The Triwizard Cup was gleaming on a plinth about a hundred yards away. Suddenly a dark figure was hurtled out onto the path in front of me. Cedric. I didn't care about winning. I just wanted to survive, to be honest. A fourteen-year-old, almost untrained witch competing against three seventeen-year-olds was ridiculous. It was a wonder that I got this far.

"Cedric," I shouted panicked when something moving along a path that intersected the one I was jogging along. It was moving so fast that Cedric was about to run into it "On your left."

The older Hufflepuff looked up just in time to hurl himself past the thing and barely avoided collision. His wand flew out of his hand as the gigantic spider stepped into the path and began to bear down on the seventeen-year-old.

"Stupefy," I yelled. My spell hit the Acromantula's big, hairy black body, but I might as well have thrown a stone at it instead. It would have been equally effective. The only thing I achieved was that the spider was running at me instead. Great! As if I hadn't had enough of those things when they were about to eat me in Second Year… "Stupefy! Impedimenta! Stupefy!"

It was of no use though. The Acromantula was either so large or so magical that the spells were doing no more than aggravating it. I barely had any time to react until I was lifted into the air, struggling madly. I tried kicking it, but my leg only connected with the pincers and the next thing I knew was that my leg was on fire. I could hear Cedric yelling his own spells, which had no more of an effect than mine.

When the spider opened its mouth, I used the moment and murmured "Bombarda." The Acromantula exploded, making me drop twelve feet onto my already injured leg. I scrambled backward as fast as I could. When I was just out of the way, the thing's body fell to the ground, dead.

"Angel," Cedric shouted "You alright? Did it fall on you?"

I pulled myself to my feet carefully. My leg was bleeding freely and some of the Acromantula venom was on my torn robes. The injured limb could barely support my weight, so I buried my hands in the hedge next to me, gasping for breath. Cedric was standing feet from the Triwizard Cup, which was gleaming brightly.

"Take it," I panted "Go on, take it." But the Hufflepuff didn't move. He merely stood there, looking at me and then at the Cup with longing. Cedric looked around at me again "Now is not the time for you to be a Hufflepuff, Cedric. Go on. I wasn't supposed to be in this stupid tournament anyway."

The older boy shook his head "You take it. You should win. That's twice you've saved my neck in here."

I groaned "That's not how it works and you know it." Bloody Badgers. Why couldn't he just do what everyone else would have done? I didn't want the money from the tournament nor the fame that would supposedly come from this. I had enough of that to last me fifty lifetimes "The one who reaches the Cup first gets the points. That's you. I'm telling you, I'm not going to win any races on this leg." I winced as waves of pain shot through my leg again.

"No," Cedric said, stepping away from the Cup towards me.

I leaned against the hedge tiredly "Cedric, please. I want to get out of here. Just take the damn Cup."

The Hufflepuff came closer again "You told me about the dragons. I would have gone down in the First Task if you hadn't told me what was coming."

"I had help on that too," I snapped, trying to stop the blood from gushing out of the cut "You helped me with the egg – we're square."

"I had help on the egg in the first place."

I was close to tears now. It was all too much. First the stupid dragons and then the Black Lake. I was afraid of water ever since Uncle Vernon almost drowned me when I was a toddler. They had never really cared about me. Maybe they would even be happy if I died "Please, Ced," I begged, my voice breaking.

The older boy stepped over the spider's tangled legs to join me "Go on," he urged. Merlin help me. He was actually serious? He looked as though this was costing him every ounce of resolution he had, but his face was set, his arms folded.

"Both of us," I finally decided.

"What?" Cedric frowned in confusion.

I smiled – or rather grimaced "There's no way I can walk all the way to the Cup. If you're so determined then we'll take it together. Make Hogwarts proud. Standing united and all that rot."

The Hufflepuff stared at me "You – you sure?"

I nodded "As I said, I didn't want a part in this in the first place. I don't want to win. Plus, we've helped each other, haven't we?"

For a moment he looked like he couldn't believe his ears, but then his face slipped into a grin "You're on. Come here." He grabbed my arm and slung it over his shoulder. I hobbled towards the plinth, leaning almost my entire weight onto the seventeen-year-old. As soon as we had reached the glimmering Cup, we both held a hand out over one of the handles.

"On three?" I asked "One. Two. Three." My hand touched the handle and I instantly felt a jerk somewhere behind my navel. My feet left the ground as the Cup was pulling me and Cedric to a destination unknown. No one had told us that the Cup was supposed to be a portkey?

Minutes later, my feet slammed into the ground. My injured leg gave away and I fell forward "Where are we?" I whispered, looking around in fright. We landed in a graveyard. For some reason, I felt like I knew my surroundings, but I couldn't place where I had seen it before.

Cedric shook his head, looking as lost as me. He got to his feet and carefully pulled me up. The graves were all overground and to our right was the black outline of a small church which was visible beyond a large yew tree. To our left, a hill rose above. In the darkness, I could make out the outline of a big old house on top of the hillside "Did anyone tell you the Cup was a portkey?"

"No," I shivered "I have a bad feeling, Cedric."

The older boy shifted nervously "Wands out, do you reckon?"

I nodded and pulled out my wand. The feeling of being watched that I had ever since we landed, intensified "Someone's coming." Squinting, I observed a figure drawing nearer, walking steadily toward us. I couldn't make out a face, but from the way they were walking, I could tell they were carrying something. Whoever it was, he was short and wearing a hooded cloak that obscured his face. The outline was strangely familiar. It couldn't be, could it? "Cedric. Go back to the Cup. Run!"

The boy frowned down at me and then, without warning, my scar exploded with pain. It was agony. At this point, I wasn't sure if I had ever felt pain like this. My wand slipped from my numb fingers as I slipped to the ground for the hundredth time today. From far away, above my head, I heard a high cold voice say "Kill the spare."

There was a swishing noise and a second voice that undoubtedly belonged to the traitor of a rat, screeched "Avada Kedavra."

My head snapped up when I heard something heavy fall to the ground beside me. Cedric was lying spread-eagle on the ground beside me, dead. For a second, I stared into the Hufflepuff's face, at his open grey eyes and his surprised expression. No. No! Please, Cedric. You can't be dead. Please… Wormtail had put down his bundle and lit his wand. I barely noticed it when he dragged me towards the marble headstone. I saw the name upon it, flickering in the wandlight before I was forced around and slammed against it.

Tom Riddle

The rat conjured tight cords around me, trying me from neck to ankles to the headstone. I coughed lightly, the rope around my neck choking me. I struggled against them and Wormtail landed several good hits in both my face and my stomach "What are you doing?" I gasped and grunted when his fist made contact with my face again, but this time so hard that my head was thrown back into the stone. As soon as he turned his back on me, I slumped into the ropes. The world was slightly blurred around me and I hissed when something sharp cut my arm. What was the rat doing? I blinked several times, seeing him standing at a huge cauldron. Wormtail was doing some kind of ritual... I was watching in confusion until I saw someone rise from the cauldron. Someone I didn't want to see again. Ever.

"Angel Potter," a high voice hissed, a hand coming up to caress my cheek. I moaned as my scar split open with pain. The voice laughed evilly and lifted my head up by my hair "We meet again, Potter."

"Go to hell," I grounded out weakly, wincing at the pain that was coming from… well, from everywhere really.

Voldemort's eyes narrowed and he stepped back, flicking his wand in my direction "Crucio." I screamed, writhing in the restraints that were now cutting into my flesh painfully. After a minute the curse cut off and I was left panting "You will not talk to me like that," the snake-like man hissed. With those words he stalked over to Wormtail, who was cowering on the floor, holding what appeared to be what was left of his arm. The Dark Lord bent down and pulled out the rat's left arm. He forced the sleeve of Pettigrew's robes up past his elbow and I could see something on the skin there. A skull with a snake protruding from its mouth… The Dark Mark. Voldemort examined it carefully, ignoring the rat's pathetically snivelling "It's back," he said softly "They will all have noticed it… and now, we shall see… now we shall know…" He pressed one long white finger to the brand on Wormtail's arm. The scar on my head that had been throbbing, seared with a sharp pain again. Voldemort removed his finger from the mark with a look of cruel satisfaction on his face "How many will be brave enough to return when they feel it? And how many will be foolish enough to stay away?" He began to pace up and down before me, eyes sweeping the graveyard all the while. After a few minutes, he looked down at me, a cruel smile twisting his snake-like face "You stand upon the remains of my late father, Angel Potter," he sneered "A muggle and a fool… very like your dear mother. But they both had their uses, did they not? Your mother died to defend you as a child… and I killed my father and see how useful he has proved himself, in death…"

"That's nice," I snapped in annoyance. Probably not the best idea, but I was hurting and tired and I wanted it to just be over already "But I really don't care for your life story."

Not a second after the words left my mouth, I was writhing in the bonds again. A flick of his wand later, I was falling towards the ground "Had enough?"

"Fuck you," I mumbled under my breath. I swear I was so done with everything and everyone. Couldn't they just leave me alone? I didn't even know why that bastard was after me. I'm fourteen with virtually no training…

Whether he heard it and ignored it or simply didn't hear, I wasn't sure "Look, Angel. My true family returns."

The air was suddenly full of the swishing of cloaks. Between graves, behind the yew tree, in every shadowy space, wizards were apparating. All of them were hooded and masked and one by one they move forwards… slowly, cautiously, as though they could hardly believe their eyes. Voldemort stood in silence, waiting for them. Then one of the Death Eaters fell to his knees, crawled towards Voldemort and kissed the hem of his black robes.

"Master… Master…" he murmured.

The Death Eaters behind him did the same, each of them approaching Voldemort on his knees and kissing his robes, before backing away and standing up, forming a silent circle around Tom Riddle's grave. Yet, they left gaps in the circle, as though waiting for more people. I fought to sit up a bit and leaned against the cold marble of the gravestone. It soothed my hot and itchy skin a bit as tremors rocked my thin frame.

"Welcome, Death Eaters," Voldemort started quietly "Thirteen years… thirteen years since last we met. Yet you answer my call as though it were yesterday… We are still united under the Dark Mark then! Or are we?" He pulled back and sniffed, his slit-like nostrils widening "I smell guilt. There is a stench of guilt upon the air. I see you all, whole and healthy with your powers intact – such prompt appearances! – and I ask myself… why did this band of wizards never come to the aid of their master to whom they swore eternal loyalty?" No one spoke. No one moved except for Wormtail who by now was disgustingly close to me "And I answer myself. They must have believed me broken, they thought I was gone. They slipped back among my enemies and they pleaded innocence and ignorance and bewitchment… And then I ask myself, but how could they have believed I would not rise again?"

I tuned out the monologue then. Seriously? It's not like anyone cares about what he has to say. They are all too terrified to do anything anyway… Huh, it seems as though my sass always came out at the wrong time. Every time! It used to happen whenever I got into trouble with Uncle Vernon as well. Only he never got the sarcasm I threw at him. I should probably be careful of what I said or did. After three Crucios – two of which were from Voldemort himself – I was already feeling like shit.

"He is at Hogwarts…" Wait, what? Who was at Hogwarts? "That faithful servant and it was through his efforts that our young friend arrived here tonight… Yes." Voldemort's mouth curled into a grin as everyone's eyes snapped to me "Angel Potter has kindly joined us for my rebirthing party. One might go so far as to call her my guest of honour."

"Yes." I couldn't hold back "I feel so incredibly honoured to be tortured and watch my friend get killed."

A cutting curse had me crying out lowly, as the Dark Lord hissed an enraged "Silence!" at me.

There was a silence, then the Death Eater to the right of Wormtail stepped forward and Lucius Malfoy's voice spoke from under the mask "Master, we crave to know… we beg you to tell us… how you have achieved this… this miracle… how you managed to return to us…"

"Ah," Voldemort sighed "What a story it is, Lucius. And it begins – and ends – with my young friend here." He walked lazily over to stand next to my crumbled form, so that every eye was upon the both of us "You know, of course, that they have called this girl my downfall? You all know that on the night I lost my powers and my body, I tried to kill her. Her mother died in the attempt to save her – and unwittingly provided her with a protection I admit I had not foreseen… I could not touch the girl." Voldemort raised on of his long fingers and put it very close to my cheek. Since I already knew what would happen if he touched me, I braced myself for the searing pain that I knew would come "Her mother left upon her the traces of her sacrifice… This is old magic. I should have remembered it, I was foolish to overlook it… but no matter. I can touch her now." My head was bursting with pain as he pressed his finger to my scar "I miscalculated, my friends, I admit it. My curse was deflected by the woman's foolish sacrifice and it rebounded upon myself. Ah… pain beyond pain, my friends. Nothing could have prepared me for it. I was ripped from my body, I was less than spirit, less than the meanest ghost… but still, I was alive. What I was, even I do not know… I, who have gone further than anybody along the path that leads to immortality."

I once again tuned out his incessant ramblings and pressed my aching forehead to the cool grass. My eyes were getting heavier and I wasn't sure how long I would be able to stay conscious. The way it was going, not very long at all. The Acromantula venom was still within my system, burning its way through my veins and the after-effects of the Cruciatus were anything but pleasant.

"Crucio." The pain of another Unforgivable ripped me out of my daze, as I arched off the ground, my screams echoing through the dark night. Just when I was about to slip into the rescuing darkness, I felt it stop "You see, I think, how foolish it was to suppose that this girl could ever have been stronger than me, but I want there to be no mistake in anybody's mind. Angel Potter escaped me by a lucky chance and I am now going to prove my power by killing her, here and now, in front of you all, when there is no Dumbledore to help her and no mother to die for her. I will give her a chance. She will be allowed to fight and you will be left in no doubt which of us is stronger."

I glared up at the disgusting man "Because it shows strength to kill a fourteen-year-old with barely any experience."

This time I was ignored "Wormtail, give her back her wand." The rat walked out of the circle towards the place where Cedric's body was still laying and returned with my wand, while the other Death Eaters closed ranks, forming a tighter circle around me and Voldemort "You have been taught how to duel?" Voldemort asked softly, his red eyes glinting through the darkness.

I barely withheld a scoff. Of course, I wasn't taught how to duel. Second Year didn't count, because anything that Lockhart taught turned out to be a disaster. Not to mention the snake fiasco. The only thing we had learned there was the Disarming Spell, which would be of no use here. While I did study some more afterward, it was still not enough to go against a wizard who was more than four times my age.

"We bow to each other, Angel," Voldemort instructed, bending a little, but keeping his face upturned "Come, the niceties must be observed… Dumbledore would like you to show manners… Bow to death, Angel."

The Death Eaters were laughing again. I didn't bow. All this talk about death and the reminders of the old coot were really getting on my nerves. I didn't like Dumbledore much. He always preached that everything he did was for my own good, but the more I thought about it, the less I knew it to be true. There were many factors that stopped me from believing anything he said. The Dursleys were the main one. Then Sirius, his secrets about why I was the Chosen One, all the encounters with Voldemort he steered me towards and most recently the tournament. There was no way that I had to compete. I was still a minor after all.

"I said bow," he snarled, raising his wand. My spine curved as though a huge, invisible hand were bending me forwards. The additional weight made my leg buckle again and I fell to the Death Eaters laughter "Hmh. It will have to do. And now you face me." Before I could move even an inch, I was hit with the Cruciatus again. The pain was so intense, all-consuming really and it got worse every time he used it on me. I panted on the ground, now almost unconscious. I didn't want to die, so I knew I had to do something… Anything before it was too later. But what? "It seems as if our fun is over, my friends," the Dark Lord told his followers, sounding almost sad about it "Now witness the end of Angel Potter, the Girl-who-Lived-No-More."

My hand tightened around my wand and I gathered all of my remaining strength. At the same time as Voldemort spoke the Killing Curse, I shouted "Expelliarmus." A jet of green light issued from Voldemort's wand just as a jet of red light blasted from mine. They met midair and suddenly my wand was vibrating so much that I almost let go of it. The connection between the two wands was a bright, deep gold.

Before I could do anything else, there was an explosion and I was flung back, over the top of the Death Eaters and into one of the gravestones near Cedric. My head collided with the hard stone. The last thing I saw before I lost consciousness was a bright white light that was enveloping me and then everything went black.


	2. Found

_*Third Person PoV*_

It was a normal day for Zach Salvatore. Mystic Falls was not the most interesting place, at least not normally. He had tended to the vervain plants he grew in a locked room in the basement. Vervain was mostly used for subduing vampires and since the town always had problems with the supernatural, they definitely needed it. Zach, whose distant family consisted of vampires, volunteered to supply the town with the rare plant.

Around noon, Zach was staring out of one of the many windows in his house, thinking about his life, when all of a sudden his gaze landed on a tiny figure several feet into the woods. He immediately ran outside, closer to the figure. The closer he got, the more panicked he felt. It was a girl, a little girl of maybe six or seven. She seemed to be hurt pretty badly and bleeding from several wounds. How did she get here? Who would do such a thing? All of these questions ran through the Salvatore's head, when he carefully scooped the unconscious girl into his arms. He raced back towards the Boarding House and to his car. Hopefully, he could get her to Grayson – the town's best doctor – before anything happened.

During the drive, the man constantly checked on the little one, who had started trembling in the passenger seat.

"Grayson," he shouted, bursting through the doors of the Gilbert's clinic "Grayson!"

A man in his late twenties with dark brown hair came out of a door to the right of the entrance area "Zach? What are you doing… What happened?" In a second Grayson was next to the other man, staring down at the child in concern.

"I… I'm not sure. I found her at the edge of the woods behind the Boarding House," Zach explained, laying his cargo down onto the exam table.

Grayson hummed "It's good that you brought her here…" the doctor paused for a moment "Could you possibly help me? My assistant isn't here and I'm going to need help."

The only living Salvatore stared at his friend with wide eyes "Me?"

"The faster I get her treated, the better," Grayson shrugged "Lift her up a bit? I need to get rid of those clothes."

Over the course of the examination, both men got angrier and angrier with every new and old wound they found. Whoever treated this child like this was going to pay. The girl had several old scars on her back along with several bruises on her stomach, face and she had two bad cuts. The one on her arm looked the least harmless of the two, maybe a bit too close to her vein, but manageable. The second cut though seemed to be laced with some sort of venom. All around the injury there was this black substance and the wound seemed to be badly infected already, even though it seemed a few hours old at most. Then there was the tremors that randomly shook her small, emaciated body. It took them several hours to finish up enough to be comfortable with the result.

"Thanks, Zach," Grayson nodded in gratitude "I think… I think I'm going to have to call Liz to let her know about this."

Zach was still staring at the small child "How old do you think she is?"

"It's hard to say," the doctor remarked "She's small and severely malnourished, so she could be between six and eight at the most. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I just don't get how someone could do something like this."

Grayson, who had grabbed the phone from the wall, looked at the other man in sympathy "Me neither. It's disgusting. We can only hope that she will recover from this. Physically she should make a full recovery from what I can see, but her mental state is another thing entirely." The doctor held the phone up to his ear "Liz, it's Grayson. Listen, I have a patient… I think you should come to the clinic. This isn't something… Please, come down here as soon as you can."

About ten minutes after he had hung up the phone, the Sheriff of Mystic Falls, Liz Forbes, walked into the room. She was a part of one of the town's Founding Families, same as the two men already there "I'm here. What was so important?" She seemed to notice Zach next to the exam table and frowned "Zach? What are you doing here?"

"I found a little girl in the woods by the Boarding House. She was injured pretty badly," Zach explained "We thought that you should know."

Liz stepped closer to the table and peered down at the small form, a sad look in her eyes "What is wrong with her?"

"Bruises on her face and stomach, several old scars and two cuts. One on her right arm, the other on her leg," Grayson listed, running a hand through the bright red hair of the child "There are also signs of malnutrition."

A small whimper drew their attention to the injured child. She was shaking badly and appeared to be having a nightmare "No, Cedric."

The small town doctor grabbed a hold of her hand "Shh," he soothed, caressing her hair at the same time "You're alright. You're safe, little one."

Instead of calming down, the girl trashed harder, trying to get away from the contact. Her eyes snapped open and she jerked to the side, tumbling off the table in the process. As soon as she hit the floor, she scooted backwards towards the wall. Wide, frightened eyes that looked way too old for a child this young, swept around the room cautiously.

The three adults had to bite back their reactions. Liz was close to crying, while Grayson and even Zach wanted to hunt down the bastards who hurt the girl.

"We're not going to hurt you, little one," Grayson spoke softly, as her eyes rested on them "My name is Dr. Grayson Gilbert, but you can call me Gray. These two are my friends, Liz and Zach. What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Angel," the little girl whispered, barely audible.

Liz crouched down where she stood to be a bit closer to Angel's level "That's a pretty name. Angel, can you tell me where your parents are?"

Tears welled up in Angel's eyes "Dead."

"And who do you live with?"

Angel shook her head, curling up into a tighter ball "Where am I?"

"Mystic Falls, Virginia," Grayson answered with a soft smile.

The frown that crossed the child's face was almost too cute "America? I have… I have to go back. I have to tell them about… about…"

"You have to rest, Angel," the doctor pointed out "You're still injured. You have two choices. Either we'll bring you to the hospital, where they'll keep an eye on you for a few days or you can come home with me. I have a daughter who is about your age."

The small child looked up at them, startled. Why would they want her? She was a freak… Once they found out, there was nothing she could do. Would they treat her like the Dursleys? Or like Dumbledore? Angel wasn't sure what to make of her surroundings. The last thing she remembered was being flung away from Voldemort in the graveyard and a white light. Maybe her wish finally came true and she was finally free of the expectations and the hate, her life was so full of. No, she couldn't think like that. There was no hope for her. She had to kill Voldemort or die trying. Cedric… I'm so sorry. It should have been me.

While she was lost in thoughts, Grayson had come closer to where she was cowering "Angel. Will you come with me? I promise you'll be safe."

"Never safe," the girl gasped, her breathing picking up "Dead, all dead. My fault."

"Shit," the doctor cursed under his breath, scrambling towards his desk as the girl got more and more hysterical.

Liz was staring at the child with wide eyes "Do something, Grayson."

"What do you think I'm doing?" the Gilbert hissed back, returning to Angel with a syringe in his hand. He carefully grabbed her arm, only tightening his grip when she started twisting. With a swift and practiced move, the doctor injected the medication into her veins. It didn't take long for the girl to calm down and fall asleep.

"What now? We can't do anything as long as she won't tell us who she was living with," Sheriff Forbes pointed out.

Grayson stood up, lifting the too light child into his arms "I'm going to take her with me for now. Maybe she'll tell us something…"

Liz nodded at the two men "I will alert the Mayor to the situation. Have a nice day, Zach, Grayson."

"Thanks, Liz," the doctor smiled back, making his way to the door of his clinic "Zach, can you lock the door behind me? I'm closing for today."

"Sure," the current owner of the Boarding House agreed "I'm going to go as well."

Grayson sighed "Thank you for the help. I'll be sure to let you know if I find out anything about the girl."


	3. Meeting the Gilberts

When I woke up, I was lying on a bed. Why was I on a bed? I wasn't allowed to be in a bed? Or… No, Cedric. Voldemort. The Cruciatus. Then, nothing? No, that's not right. A name. Gray? America. I was in America. How did I get here? I had to get back to Hogwarts. They had to know that Cedric was dead and he was back. Would they even believe me? They never did before? Should I just stay here? Maybe they wouldn't find me and I could live a normal life?

"You're awake," a gentle female voice remarked in surprise.

I flinched and immediately angled my body toward the door. The voice belonged to a beautiful brown haired woman. She seemed nice, but could I really trust my feelings? I didn't know her and she was blocking the only way out of the room I was in.

"I'm sorry," she apologized sincerely "I didn't mean to scare you. My name is Miranda Gilbert. My husband Grayson brought you here. Do you remember?"

I titled my head and nodded lightly "The doctor."

Miranda beamed "Exactly. Now, would you like something to eat?"

"No, ma'am" I whispered. I wasn't hungry, if anything, I felt quite sick. My leg was still itching badly and my muscles felt like they were on fire. It was better than when I first woke up, but it still hurt. I should probably be glad that I was functioning at all… From what Professor Moody had told us, overexposure of the Cruciatus lead to insanity. I had been Crucio'd several times and thankfully I was still alright.

"But you have to eat, Angel. That's your name, isn't it?"

I nodded, still eyeing her warily. I wasn't sure what to make of her. Why was she being so nice? Why did that doctor bring me here? I didn't understand why they would care about me. No one did before, right? I mean, Professor Lupin sort of did, but that was just because I looked like Lily. Why would anyone care anyway? "I'm not hungry, ma'am."

"Call me Miranda, sweetheart. Do you want to at least come down to meet our children? Or well, child really. Elena isn't here at the moment, but you'll meet her soon," she explained softly "Grayson would also like to check your injuries."

I shrugged uncertainly. I really wasn't sure what to expect in this situation. Ron's mother, while she treated me okay, I always felt like there was something underneath all that motherly behaviour. With Miranda it didn't feel that way. She seemed to genuinely want to help me. It only confused me more…

The woman held out a hand for me to take "Come on. Give it a try at least," she encouraged.

"Kay," I mumbled, ignoring the offered hand. I limped closer to her, past a bookshelf. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw the name 'Harry Potter', but that was impossible, right? Maybe they would allow me to come back to this room later, so I could look at the book more closely. Before I reached the woman, I stopped, waiting for her to leave the room before me. I couldn't describe my insecurities, but for once I felt like I could be myself. No masks, no false cheerfulness, just Angel. Plain and simple.

I was breathing heavily when I reached the living room downstairs. The short walk down the stairs had tired me out already and I was shaking worse than before.

"Hi, I'm Jeremy," a young boy introduced himself cheerfully.

"Hi," I smiled shyly, peaking at him from underneath my fringe.

Dr. Grayson kneeled down where he was standing not too far from me and tried to catch my eye "May I look at your injuries, little one? They must hurt."

I shrugged "I'm fine."

"You're not," the doctor remarked with a sad, but sympathetic gaze "But you will be if we have any say in it."

"Exactly," Miranda agreed "We can promise you this. You won't go back to the people who you were with before. They will face charges even if we have to drag them to court ourselves."

My eyes widened in shock. They would do that for me? But I didn't want to go to an orphanage. The Dursleys always said that orphanages got rid of freaks. That those who were unnatural would be drowned. The adults at Hogwarts had never really cared either. I told Professor Dumbledore every year that I didn't want to go back to Privet Drive, but he always sent me back.

"Could you answer some questions for us, Angel?" Grayson murmured, unwrapping the bandage around my leg.

I was uncomfortable with the contact, but I was aware that it had to be done "I think so," I nodded shyly.

"What's your date of birth?" he asked.

"31st of July, 1992," I answered after a short pause.

The two adults exchanged a shocked glance over my head "So you're eight?"

"I – I guess so?" It came out as more of a question. I was fourteen in the graveyard. What happened there? What did the white light do? De-age me? Send me to another continent? "I'm tired."

Grayson stood up "You should sleep some more. I'll bring you upstairs, but I want you to eat the next time you wake up. You're underweight already."

"I get food?" I blinked in surprise "But I don't need anything." The man stiffened and I curled into a tight ball. Was he angry? Would he hurt me now? "'M sorry. Please don't hurt me," I cried, my breathing starting to get heavier again.

"I won't hurt you, little one," Dr. Grayson promised "Just breath. Is it okay if I carry you up to your room?"

I tilted my head at his words "My room?"

He nodded "It's yours for as long as you stay here."

"I get a room?" A small sob sounded from the other side of the room and I turned to the woman with wide eyes. She was crying? Did I make her sad? No! There were so many emotions. Please, just make them stop. I didn't want them.

Jeremy bounced up and down behind his father "Do you want to play with me?"

"Later, Jeremy," Grayson waved the boy off "Angel needs a lot of rest. She is a bit ill at the moment."

His eyes widened and he nodded furiously "But we'll play once you're better," he decided "Elena is boring. She never wants to play."

My lips twitched up a tiny bit "I'd like to play. I never played before."

Grayson inhaled sharply "Okay. Let's get you to bed, kiddo." He came closer and held out his arms to pick me up. After a few moments of indecision, I carefully inched forward. The man scooped me up carefully and carried me up the stairs and back to the bed I woke up in. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I drifted off "Sleep well." Something brushed against my forehead, before I fell asleep completely.


	4. Settling In

The next time, I woke up in the bedroom, I was alone. It was a good thing too since I really had to think things through. I had no idea what happened to me in the graveyard. How was I suddenly younger and where was I anyway? With those books, I saw there was no way, I was still in my world, was there?

I slid out of bed and carefully stumbled towards the bookcase, I had seen the book on. There it was… they were. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone? The Chamber of Secrets? What? The Prisoner of Azkaban… Sirius. I'm sorry that you never had the chance to get to know the real me. I picked up the first book and crawled back onto the huge bed. There was only one way to find out if this had anything to do with what I know about or not.

' _Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.'_

I gasped in shock. This wasn't possible. How did I get here and why is there a book series about a boy version of me? How much of it was actually accurate?

The rest of the night, I read the first book. By the end of it, I was surprised. Many things were the way they happened for me, but they were also very tame compared to the reality. The Dursleys had treated me worse than a House elf, beating me whenever I did something wrong or freakish. All of the hopes I had for the Wizarding World, shrivelled up after only a week at Hogwarts. The students all stared at me, talked behind my back and then when I lost them hundred and fifty points after the Norbert incident, they started bullying me. I was the next Dark Lady for most of my schooling there. Constantly changing from a Dark witch to their Saviour and back. Their behaviour gave me whiplash to the extent of just giving up hope of ever fitting in with them. A freak in one world and a freak in the other. Maybe that was the way I was supposed to live my life.

From what I could tell, both Miranda and Grayson were amazing parents. They were so nice to me, even though they didn't know anything about my life or my personality. Jeremy seemed like a nice kid too. Maybe we could become friends? Yes, he was younger, but why should that matter? They had a daughter as well… I was kind of excited to meet her. Hopefully, I could at least have one friend my age? I never had any friends in Primary school and Hogwarts wasn't much different. Most of the people there only talked to me because I was famous and they wanted in on it.

A knock on my door startled me out of my thoughts "Angel?" Miranda called quietly, opening the door "Oh, you're awake. Are you alright?"

I scooted away from the book in fear. Was I allowed to touch them? "Sorry."

"Oh, honey," she smiled, sitting down on the edge of the bed. The older woman tilted her head to look at the book "Harry Potter? That's a good book. How do you like it?"

I shrugged shyly "It's sad."

"Because he lost his parents?"

"No," I whispered "Because no one likes him for who he is and there are a lot of people who only see his parents."

Miranda's smile turned sad "But at least he found friends at Hogwarts. Come on, it's time for breakfast. And you can meet our daughter, Elena. She came back from her friend's house an hour after you went to bed yesterday."

I crawled to the other side of the bed and slid out, being careful of my still aching leg "I'm still not hungry, ma'am."

"But you have to eat something, love," she told me firmly, leaving the room before me. I was glad that they understood that I was nervous about walking past people… Maybe all the bad stuff was finally catching up to me and that's why I was so nervous and scared all the time? It also helped that no one wanted me to be brave or act a certain way. Downstairs, at the kitchen table, there was Jeremy with Grayson and a brown-haired girl "Elena? I want you to meet Angel. She will be staying with us for a while."

Elena looked me up and down, dismissing me entirely "I'm hungry, mom."

"Elena," Grayson scolded "That's not a nice thing to do."

"I don't care," the girl shrugged.

Jeremy, who had been watching his sister and me, bounced up to me "Hello, Angel. Do you want to play with me later?"

I smiled weakly "I'd like that."

"Come on," Gray smiled at me "What would you like to eat? Egg? Cereal?"

My eyes widened. He actually gave me a choice? I never had a choice. Not even at Hogwarts. They only had this extremely greasy food that my stomach could barely cope with "I – I don't know. I never had it?"

The doctor closed his eyes and breathed in and out deeply "How about you try a bit of cereal and if you like it then you can have some more?"

"Okay," I nodded, biting my lip when he put a bowl of milk and cereal in front of me. My small hand grasped the spoon and I poked it. The cereal consisted of colourful circles that looked really nice actually. I kept an eye on the two adults as I scooped some of it onto the small spoon. As soon as it was in my mouth, I couldn't stop my eyes from lighting up. It actually tasted pretty good, a bit too sweet maybe, but it was something I never tasted before.

Jeremy grinned knowingly "They're awesome, right?"

"I like it," I murmured in agreement. After another two spoonfuls of cereal, I pushed the bowl away from me. Those few bites were actually enough to fill me up completely. Just thinking about how little I actually ate, made me sad, but I guess that happens when you're told that you're not good enough for food.

"Are you done?" Miranda questioned, holding her hand out for the bowl. I bit my lip, but nodded and handed her the still half-full bowl "Don't worry little one. You can have some more food if you're hungry."

"Mom," Jeremy called out, his mouth full of food "I'm done. Can Angel and I go outside?"

Miranda rolled her eyes at her son "If Angel wants to join you, then yes."

He turned to me, giving me a puppy dog look. I didn't care much either way, so I just shrugged and nodded. I was a bit scared about what he would do once we were out of his parent's earshot, but from what I saw, he was just excited to play with someone who actually wanted to spend time with him.

The next few hours were spent with Jeremy explaining several games to me and us running around the garden until my leg started to get worse and worse. Suddenly, I was on the floor and my right leg was aching like crazy. My eyes were tearing up and I sniffed, trying to force them back. I wasn't weak. Crying made me weak…

"Dad," the younger boy yelled, running into the house "Angel's hurt."

It only took minutes for the doctor to come outside with his son in tow "Can I look at your leg, sweetheart?"

I sniffled but loosened my grip on the injured limb. Everything happened quite fast and soon I was back in the room I was staying in.

"'M sorry, Angie," Jeremy mumbled, sitting down next to me.

I shook my head "Not your fault. I shouldn't have run around this much. I really liked playing, Jeremy. It was fun."

His expression lightened up "Wanna play in here?"

"Sure," I laughed quietly. It was so easy to be happy around the boy. He seemed to be happy all the time and didn't care for my occasional flinches or my quietness. Everything about the last two days was better than all of the fourteen years back in the other world. Maybe, just maybe I could have a better life here? That is if they don't get rid of me… For now, I'd just have faith, for the hundredth time in my life. Although now, it seemed so much more useful than before.


	5. New Family Member

Today was finally the day. I had been adopted by Gray and Miranda less than a year ago. The doctor had, as soon as it became clear that I needed psychological help, looked for a suitable child psychologist. Dr. Killian Mayer was amazing. He never pushed me to speak about something I didn't feel ready to talk about, instead, he encouraged me to indulge in something I loved. Most notably this turned out to be art. Ever since he told me to try and draw my memories and nightmares, I had developed a passion for both drawing and painting. The longer I tried, the better the end result looked and I was really proud of everything I drew, no matter how bad the memory attached was.

I was on the way to recovery when I had a huge setback. As soon as I started school, I constantly had panic and anxiety attacks. I couldn't explain why, but there were just so many people, so much noise that my brain went into overload and I freaked out. After every attack, I was so exhausted that I would fall asleep almost instantly. It has really impacted my recovery and Elena wasn't helping. She laughed at me behind my back and her friends weren't much better. They were two-faced… all of them. This might have something to do with the fact that they just didn't understand what I was going through, but it mattered little to me. Their behaviour hurt and certainly wasn't helping me at all.

The attacks got worse and worse, no matter what we tried and in the end, I was barely sleeping and dreaded going to school every day. Dr. Killian – as the last attempt – got into contact with one of his friends who trained Service Dogs for people who needed them. From what he told me they got talking and his friend offered one of his trained puppies for me. All of the adults around me had high hopes for this experiment since it was one of our last resorts. They hoped that I could live normally with the help of a Service Dog. The dog in question could alert me to any attacks and help me with life in general, calming me down before the panic got too bad.

As soon as my new siblings heard about the new family member, the drama was huge. Elena threw a gigantic fit, complaining about me getting a pet which she had been asking about for ages. Jeremy, on the other hand, was just as excited as I was if not more. The younger boy and I had gotten impossibly closer and whenever we were together, no one dared to try and come between us. I loved Jeremy like a brother and even though he was younger than me, he was incredibly protective.

The trainer was already waiting for us when our car pulled up at the house "Hello," she smiled cheerfully "My name is Laura."

"I'm Grayson," Gray introduced himself "These are my children Jeremy and Angel." Elena had stayed behind with Miranda and Aunt Jenna. Jenna was Miranda's sister and she as well as Uncle John – Gray's brother – treated me like family. The adults were always looking out for me and talked me down when I was panicky. One incident was when Elena turned nine in August. She was several months older than me, but I was still in her grade at school. Anyway, at her party, she and her friends teamed up against me and Jeremy and were screaming and shouting, which threw me head first into a flashback.

_Flashback_

_Elena, Caroline and Bonnie were running towards Jay and me, screaming nothing in specific. They came closer and closer and I couldn't move anymore. I was gripping Jeremy's arm in a death grip, staring at the floor absentmindedly. The only thing I could hear were the screams._

_I'm sorry, Uncle Vernon. I'll be better. Please don't hurt me… I didn't mean to…_

_Suddenly, I felt myself being scooped up by a pair of strong arms. It happened so quick for me that I freaked out. I didn't see who was holding me, so I struggled as much as I could._

" _Shh, Angel," Uncle John hushed, hitching me up higher on his waist "You're fine. You're safe."_

_I sniffled and burrowed my face into his neck "What happened?"_

" _You had a flashback. Do you remember?"_

" _Yes," I nodded tiredly, closing my eyes "'M sorry, U – Uncle John." For the few times of Uncle John staying with us, I had a huge problem with calling him Uncle, because I had so many bad memories attached to it, but the more time I spent with him the more I like him._

_Flashback End_

Laura smiled down at me and gestured for us to follow her into the house "Please, sit. I want to talk things through with you first before I'll take you to meet the puppies." I scrambled into Gray's lap, extremely uncomfortable with the strange place and curled up into a tight ball "I'll introduce you to the puppies – we have five at the moment. All of them have completed their training and can do simple commands. They will be professional when you tell them to 'work' and basically do everything in their power to keep Angel from a panic attack. We have also trained them to come when called, so I advise you keep the name, otherwise, you'll just confuse them."

I blinked at the woman and nodded in understanding "They can go everywhere with me?"

"As long as they are wearing their vest, yes. I'll give you the vest later. Any other questions?" Laura asked.

Gray cleared his throat lightly "You said that they're trained. Do they need additional training?"

"All of our pups can do the basic commands like 'sit' and 'down' and some more specific ones. There's always more to teach them, but it's completely up to you." She got up from the sofa across from us "Let's go meet the puppies."

Once we were outside – with Jeremy bouncing in place excitedly – I stared at the dogs insecurely. What if they won't like me? How do I choose the one I want? Laura whistled lowly, catching the attention of all five of the puppies. They were different breeds, but I couldn't really place them. I only knew about bulldogs and Fluffy "Here we go. In order, we have Lucky, Dash and Pepper. All three of them are Labrador Retriever." She pointed at three yellow dogs with huge eyes. Actually, all of their eyes were huge. They looked so cuddly. Next, she pointed at a black and white dog "This is Blue, our Border Collie and Nara, a Husky."

Jeremy squealed with excitement "They are so cute. Which one will you take, Angie? Which one?"

I swallowed several times, completely overwhelmed with the situation. To my relief, Laura spoke up again "How about the three of us leave Angel alone for a few minutes? I think it would be best if you can get to know them without interference."

Minutes later, I was alone with the five puppies who were all sniffing around me. My hand trembled as I reached out to touch the black and white one. Blue, was it? He soaked up the attention and immediately bullied his way onto my lap. I giggled quietly and buried my face in the warm furry coat "Hey," I greeted Blue shyly and smiled when he turned his head to lick my face gently. Iran my hand over his coat with wonder.

I wasn't aware of how time passed, but suddenly I was attacked by Jay, who fell to his knees next to me, reaching out for the dog happily "He's cute. Which one is that?"

"That's our Border Collie, Blue. He is one of the calmest here and learns incredibly quickly. If he's the one you want," Laura spoke up, standing off to the side with Gray "I have given your Dad several vests for him in different sizes, since he'll grow quite fast."

I cradled the puppy to my chest and nodded in acknowledgment of her words "Will we go and buy the other stuff we need, dad?"

Grayson beamed down at me and I only now noticed that I called him dad. It only happened a few times now, but every time it did, they always made sure to praise me "Of course. But not today. You three had an exciting day and I'm sure you're tired?" In response to his words, I let out a huge yawn which was mirrored by Blue. I giggled again and squeaked as Gray picked me up along with the dog "Then off we go. Thank you so much for this, Laura. I'm Dr. Mayer will let you know if it works out."

She grinned "He surely will. If not, I'm going to beat his ass," Laura joked "Goodbye, Grayson, Jeremy and Angel. Take good care of Blue for me."

"We will," Jeremy promised, skipping next to his father to the car.


	6. Funeral

I lived with the Gilberts for eight years now and I was really proud of myself. Despite everything that was going on I was getting better. Correction, I had been getting better until Grayson and Miranda…

Elena had snuck out of the house for a party that she wasn't allowed to go to. She apparently called our parents, drunk out of her mind and demanded to be picked up. The car with all three of them inside… Let's just say that neither mom nor dad survived the accident. Needless to say that this had been the biggest setback I had since I got adopted. My childhood had been so much better the second time. The only thing I could have done without were the attacks I quite frequently had. Aunt Jenna came to live with us since Miranda had named her our guardian.

The funeral was tomorrow and I wasn't sure what was more terrifying. The fact that I had to enter a graveyard or the fact that I would never see my parents again. In one of the many conversations I had with Dr. Killian, we talked about calling Grayson and Miranda 'mom' and 'dad'. Despite my birth parents' love for me, I never really had adults I could really count on, so it took me quite a while to be comfortable with those titles.

"Can I come in?" Jeremy murmured from the door of my room.

I wiped at my wet eyes and scooted to the side, making Blue move with me. My Service Dog had always been incredibly helpful for me. Whenever I got overwhelmed or panicked, he warned me beforehand. At the moment, he was lying on my lap just offering as much comfort with his furry warmth as he could.

Jay flopped down on the bed next to me, looking worse for the wear. I don't think either of us had slept since we got the message of their death "I miss them," he whispered, clutching my hand. I curled up next to my little big brother after I moved Blue out of the way for now. The dog didn't want to leave me though and instead planted himself onto Jeremy's and my stomachs. That got us to chuckle a little, but the mood sobered up quickly.

"I miss them too," I sniffled "Even though they only took me in, they were the parents I never had."

My brother kissed my forehead lightly "And you're their daughter and my sister. Angel, this won't change anything. You know that, right?" I bit my lip and buried my face in his shoulder. Truthfully, I was a little scared that I would have to leave them now. Jenna could barely cope with only herself to look after. What would she do with three teenagers? Especially one as damaged as me… "Don't, Tiny. Don't even think about that. Aunt Jenna and even Uncle John love you so much. There's no way you're getting rid of us… and me."

I couldn't help but grin weakly at one of Jeremy's nicknames. There were so many that it was hard to keep track of, but most commonly he just called me 'Tiny' because even with appropriate nutrition, I still barely reached 5'. It was annoying to always look up at people, especially when you're surrounded by huge people who are way too close for your liking. The people in town knew who I was and most of the adults were aware of my background, so they always gave me the space I needed. At school, the only ones who knew were my teachers and most of my classmates. I think I was eleven when Dr. Killian came to school with me to explain to the others what exactly my problem was. He didn't go into details, but for children, it was horrifying enough to only hear part of it. That was also the moment that both Bonnie and Caroline apologized to me. Elena apparently told them that I was an attention seeker and was faking to get the attention off of her. I didn't care much, but I knew that we probably never would be friends after what they did.

"We should probably get some sleep," I pointed out unwillingly. Honestly, I was kind of scared of the nightmares I was sure would come, but there was no way I could survive the graveyard tomorrow if I didn't at least try to catch some sleep. Jeremy shifted a bit and I tightened my grip when I thought he'd leave "Stay?"

"I was going to, Angie. I have to change though," he soothed, running a hand through my hair "I don't think I can sleep alone either. I'll be right back, okay?"

I nodded in embarrassment "Sorry."

He rolled his eyes at me "Don't be. You know that you only have to ask. I'm here for you just like you're here for me."

"But I feel like I'm so… They were your parents. I have no right to act as clingy as I do," I tried to explain, tried to get him to understand.

"Angel," Jeremy sighed gently "They were your parents as well. Yes, it hurts that they aren't here right now and I don't think it really sunk in yet, but you need the comfort as much as I do. I don't want you to close yourself off. The last time was bad…"

I didn't like to think about the last time I locked myself away from everyone. To be completely honest, I couldn't even remember much. It started with a nightmare about the day my parents were murdered and continued on from there. Nothing could really get to me. I was exhausted and didn't eat or talk much anymore. The only release I had at the time was my art and Blue. It was mostly thanks to Blue that I even got out of bed most days… I just wished that I could be normal.

The next day came quickly and before I knew it, I was dressed in a black dress that reached around the middle of my tight with a black wool coat over it. My feet were covered my knee-high black boots that hid the ugly scar I had on my leg from the Acromantula bite I got years ago.

"Are you ready?" Aunt Jenna questioned, knocking on my door lightly.

I glanced at the mirror for a short moment but nodded "Yes. Only have to get Blue's vest."

The older woman smiled sadly "You don't have to go if you think that…"

"Aunt Jenna," I interrupted her quietly "I'm scared, but mom and dad would want me to say goodbye to them. I have to do this for myself."

"Okay," Jenna nodded and turned around to get the others.

I followed her out of the room with Blue hot on my heels. It was a bit unusual for him to stick to me like glue, but now he never leaves my side, always ready to help me. Uncle John was waiting in the living room, his head in his hands. I moved to grab Blue's vest and leash and sat down next to my uncle, slipping the gear on Blue, before I leaned my head against John's shoulder "Will you be okay?"

He let out a startled breath "Not going to ask whether I'm fine?"

"I know you're not, Uncle John. Neither of us is, but for now, there's only the hope that we can get over this soon," I explained. As sad as it was, they weren't the only people I lost over the course of my life. I should have known that sooner or later everyone around me died. The world didn't seem to matter at all.

John's arm slipped around my shoulders "Angel… Will you be alright?"

"Ask me after the funeral," I murmured, feeling tears enter my eyes. While Jay had tried to reassure me, I still wasn't sure if they were trying to get rid of me. I knew that they love me like family, but if I get worse, they might not be able to handle it? Maybe I… No, I swore off the masks. They were bad, right? What stopped me from hiding my problems again? It would make things so much easier for the others. They deserved to grieve without the psycho teenage girl ruining their lives with her attacks.

The older man sighed and pulled me into a standing position "Come on, we should probably leave now."

I was fine until maybe halfway through the service. They had just lowered the coffins into the grave when I couldn't stop my eyes from wandering around the graveyard. A headstone with a statue made me gasp quietly.

" _Kill the spare."_

" _Angel Potter."_

" _Bow to death."_

" _Crucio."_

My breathing picked up and I was sure that my eyes were unfocused. Memories of the graveyard flashed past my eyes and I could feel the phantom pain of the Cruciatus. There wasn't much I noticed other than the stuff that was in my head. Blue's snout was nudging my hand in alarm and after I didn't react the arm that was holding the leash moved to the left slightly. It was like I could still feel what was going on around me, but I couldn't see or react to anything.

Suddenly, I felt myself being scooped up into familiar arms… Uncle John?… and getting carried off somewhere. A hand was brushing down my cheek and a wet tongue licked my neck.

I wasn't sure how long it took but I started blinking like I always did when I came out of a flashback. Blue was still licking my neck calmingly, while John's hand disappeared "Angel? You with me?"

"Yeah… I… I'm sorry," I stuttered, feeling a bone-deep tiredness crawl through my entire body. This wasn't what I wanted. It was supposed to be a day where the others could grieve without my problems messing it all up. Within a second, I was up and running out of the small chapel. I didn't know where I was going but I just ran as far and as fast as my feet could carry me until there was nothing around but trees.

When I felt that I was far enough away, I collapsed to the ground, tears wreaking my small body. The sound of rustling leaves scared me, but it was soon forgotten when Blue curled up on my lap. Yes, my Service Dog was the best thing that happened to me. I was just sad that we decided to retire him in a few months. Blue might only be eight years old, but Dr. Killian advised me to get a new puppy trained soon. The Border Collie would still stay with us and help me, but he would be able to relax while the new one would accompany me everywhere.


	7. 1x01 Pilot

I was sitting in the kitchen on the morning of the first day of school, while Aunt Jenna was running around like a headless chicken "Toast. I can make toast."

"Don't you have a meeting with your thesis advisor?" I spoke up, checking my bag for the last time. Sketchbook, food and water for Blue, notebooks and the school books I needed for today along with a folder. My pencil case was still missing, but that was because I was still putting in some pens and coloured pencils I would need for Art today.

"Crap," Jenna cursed "Your first day of school and I'm totally unprepared. Lunch money?" She held out three notes.

Elena shook her head, sipping her cup of coffee "I'm good."

"I actually made something for Jay and me to take to school, but thanks," I smiled, getting up to collect Blue's vest and his leash "Want to walk with me, Jay?"

My younger brother bounded over to my side "Sure. I could use some exercise."

I whistled, making Blue appear in front of me, wagging his tail happily "Hey, boy. You ready for school?" He yipped and licked my face when I bent down to put on his harness and clip the leash on.

It didn't take us long to get to the school. Our house was only a few streets away from the High School. I wasn't quite sure why Elena wanted to get picked up by Bonnie, but who was I to argue? I was just glad that I had Art today. My teacher was amazing and she constantly challenged me one way or another. Before mom and dad died, she even wanted to get in contact with a friend of hers who was an Art dealer and museum owner in New York, but I kind of lost track of that in the last few months. I wasn't even sure whether I should actually try it now… I seemed to be so – I don't know unimportant, I guess.

Now, I didn't hate school too much. It was just all of the people and the occasional teacher that completely annoyed me. One of those teachers was Mr. Tanner, my History teacher. I think he was the only one in the entire town who believes that I'm only playing up my issues. That's the reason why I wasn't allowed to leave his class when I panic and he always put me in the front row. No matter how often I talked to him or even the principal, nothing came of it.

Today, he was rambling about the state of Virginia in the Civil War or something equally as boring as this. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Elena and the new guy. For some reason, he was staring at my sister as if he knew her. That guy gave me the creeps. There was definitely something wrong with him and my magic was trying to warn me. I couldn't quite tell what he was though.

Several boring classes followed until it was finally time for lunch. I tugged at Blue's leash lightly, trying to motivate him to go outside for a few minutes, so he could walk around and relieve himself.

"Hi, Ms. Nelson," I greeted, walking into the Art classroom half an hour before the bell rang.

Ms. Nelson grinned up at me "Angel. How are you and how is Blue?"

"We're doing fine, Ms. Nelson," I assured my favourite teacher. She had always supported me as much as she could.

"Hey, have you thought about the Art show yet?"

I nodded and took a seat in the back row like always. Ms. Nelson had followed me back and seated herself on one of the tables in front of mine "I did, but I'm not sure. Do you really think I'm good enough?"

"Are you actually asking me that?" she gaped "You are. If you're not sure then maybe I could send my friend a portfolio of some of your work first? It's the perfect way to show off some different styles and then he can get back to us?"

I bit my lip and thought for a while. For one, I knew that I still had a lot to learn when it came to drawing and painting, but on the other hand, I really wanted to know if I was good enough to warrant a part in the show that man was planning "I can try. When do you want the portfolio?"

Ms. Nelson's smile was so bright that I almost felt bad for my hesitation. She never said anything bad about any of her student's work. Instead, she helped them improve as much as they wanted to and gave them pointers. Not only when it came to her subject either "Two days? Put some of everything in there, okay? Maybe even some pages from your sketchbook?"

"Okay," I agreed quietly, pulling out my current sketchbook from my bag. It was one with relatively thin pages, so I mostly sketched in it or did some smaller drawings with pencil or ink "What's our topic this year?"

"We're going to work on photography," my teacher whispered conspiratorially "Basically I want you to take pictures with these miniature figures in them."

I blinked as ideas started pouring into my head "That's awesome," I murmured "Oh, I can have fun with this."

"I hope the others will think so too," Ms. Nelson smiled "If you want you can choose a few figures already. They are on my desk."

"Thank you," I murmured and walked to her desk, selecting a few random figures. I didn't want to pick out the ones I wanted. That would be too easy and I wanted a challenge. Trying to match the figures to a picture and not the other way around.

The rest of the time until the others arrived, I was working on my half realistic half geometrical drawings. At the moment this turned out to be a stag that breaks out of a casing of geometrical figures. When the others finally arrived, I was about halfway done with the sketch.

The rest of the school day went by pretty quickly and soon I was back home in the kitchen. Aunt Jenna was hopeless when it came to cooking and food-related stuff, so whenever I felt like it I cooked. Today wasn't one of those days, instead, I was sitting there, putting finishing touches on my drawing.

"I'm meeting Bonnie at the grill," Elena called, running down the stairs and towards the front door. Like usual, she ignored me whenever I was close to her. It was better than her berating me though, so I took what I got.

Jenna looked up "Okay, have fun." Then she froze "Wait, I got this. Don't stay out late, it's a school night."

"Well done, Aunt Jenna," Elena rolled her eyes, opening the front door. There were muffled voices before the door shut completely.

Aunt Jenna sat down next to me, checking out the drawing I was working on "This looks good. How was school today?"

I shrugged "Tanner was an asshole but Art might just have saved the day. Our new project is awesome."

"Really?" Jenna smiled "Tell me about it."

"We have these miniature figures that we have to take pictures of. The more creative, the better." I hesitated slightly before adding the last part "Ms. Nelson wants me to put together a portfolio for an Art director. The plan has been set since before mom and dad died… I… Do you think they would be mad at me for doing this?"

My aunt leaned forward, stilling my hands "Are you kidding me? They wanted you to do this, right? Maybe this will actually be fun? You can never go wrong with trying… At least that's what I hear."

I laughed at her "You're right, Aunt Jenna. I should probably ask Jay to help me pick out some stuff. I'd ask you, but you have no idea about what makes a painting good."

She gasped in mock hurt "You wound me, my dear niece. But yeah, I'm probably not the best choice for this."

I went upstairs to see if Jay was up to looking through my huge stack of artwork now. He was and both of us spent the next several hours making a pile that we liked. It turned out to be too much as well, but at least it wasn't as much as the stuff in the beginning.

The next day in school I was barely able to concentrate at all. My night had been filled with nightmares, so I mostly tried to practice my mental shields… Occlumency if I could trust the Harry Potter books. My other self had never gotten it down but that might have been Snape's fault more than anything else. I knew what he was talking about when he said 'Clear your mind' but Harry didn't.

"The Battle of Willow Creek took place right at the end of the war in our very own Mystic Falls. How many casualties resulted in this battle? Ms. Bennett?" Tanner asked one of my sister's friends.

Bonnie stared at the History teacher blankly "Um… a lot? I'm not sure. Like a whole lot."

"Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Ms. Bennett, Mr. Donovan? Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your embedded jock stereotype?"

Matt smiled at Mr. Tanner "It's okay, Mr. Tanner, I'm cool with it."

I giggled silently at the answer my sister's ex gave. I liked Matt. Not in the like like sense, but he was an awesome guy. Smart and sporty. In my opinion, Elena threw away one of the best things she ever had.

Tanner rolled his eyes in exasperation "Hmm. Elena? Surely you can enlighten us about one of the town's most significant historical events?"

"I'm sorry," my sister stuttered "I – I don't know."

"I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reasons, Elena. But the personal excuses ended with summer break. This goes for you as well, Angel." I stiffened at his words. Was he fucking serious right now? He just told us to just get over the death of our parents. I was wrong… Tanner was the worst teacher anyone could have. You can't just say this.

The new guy who had been staring at my sister yesterday spoke up "There were 346 casualties. Unless you're counting local civilians."

Tanner turned to him "That's correct, Mister…?"

"Salvatore," the new guy replied. As in Zach? I didn't know that Zach had any other family. Especially not someone who felt this weird. What was he?

"Salvatore. Any relation to the original settlers here in Mystic Falls?"

"Distant," the now named Salvatore murmured. Lie… That's all I got from him. What was his first name anyway? Maybe I could find out without having to ask him.

Tanner nodded in acknowledgment "Well, very good. Except, of course, there were no civilian casualties in this battle."

"Actually," the new guy cut in "There were 27, sir. Confederate soldiers, they fired on the church, believing it to be housing weapons. They were wrong. It was a night of great loss. The founder's archives are, uh, stored in civil hall if you'd like to brush up on your facts, Mr. Tanner."

"Hmm," the teacher gave back grimly. It was very obvious that he already hated the crap out of the new Salvatore.

This evening both of my siblings went to the back to school party they usually had down by the Falls, while I stayed in as usual. I didn't like crowd or parties and I only go to those I absolutely had to go to. Those were usually the ones mom dragged me to. Dressing up wasn't my thing either, mostly because short dresses always revealed the scar on my leg and I couldn't walk in long dresses. Jeremy always made fun of me when I stumbled because I was accidentally stepping on the bottom of the dress. He thought it was hilarious.

I finished my homework by nine and immediately went to bed afterward. Hopefully, this night will be better than last.

_Flashback_

" _Are you ready?" Grayson asked from the front seat of the car. We were on our way to Disney World for Jeremy's tenth birthday. I had never been to any kind of theme park before but from what I read and from what Jay told me, it was fun._

" _Yeah," Jay bounced in his seat, while Elena was staring out of the window. I really didn't know what her problem was. She was always acting weirdly and not only to me but to her brother as well._

_Miranda looked over her shoulder at me "What about you, Angel?"_

" _I don't know yet," I answered softly "But I'm sure it'll be fun?"_

_Another hour later and we were waiting to enter Disney World. We spent a day having fun, going on rides and meeting characters from various children's movies. I only knew them because my new family made sure to have me watch all of the essentials. They were actually pretty good and I could see why Dudley loved movies so much. Although the stuff he watched was very different._

_During the rides Blue would always stay with one of my parents while the other accompanied us onto the attractions. Sometimes I stayed behind as well because I didn't want to go on one._

_All in all, it was really cool and one of the best days I ever had. Despite all the people who were there, I enjoyed myself._

_End of Flashback_


	8. 1x02 Night of the Comet

The third day of school and already Jenna was being dictated to the school by Tanner. I wasn't sure why exactly but I think that it had to do with both Jeremy and me. That man was an asshole and made sure that everyone knew.

"Do I look adult?" Jenna demanded, seeming extremely jittery "As in respectfully parental?"

I turned my head to look at her "Depends. For Tanner? I don't think you have to try. He's going to fuck you over either way."

Jenna gasped in mock shock "Did you just curse on me, Missy?"

"Maybe," I giggle "But seriously. Just leave your hair down. I'm going for a run with Jay, is that okay?"

"Yeah, sure. Be careful though," she warned "And don't forget to go to school. I'll drop your portfolio off with your Art teacher."

I walked forward and hugged her "Thanks. I don't want to ruin it by accidentally dropping it."

"That's something I can see you doing," she teased, nudging me towards the door "Off you go then."

"Bye, Aunt Jenna," I smiled and called for both Jay and Blue.

It was a few hours later that I was sitting in History class again, zoning out. Tanner was babbling on about the comet and its history. I understand that he's my teacher but did he honestly have to be a dick all the time? Before I even sat down, he already started going on about me and my brother. He went on about how I didn't respect him as an authority figure because I talked back to him. Honestly? Why should I respect someone like that? He was a bully and really reminded me of Professor Snape, though Tanner didn't even have a good reason to put me down. It was just fun to him, a game. Picking on the one PTSD student who already had enough problems without him adding to them.

After classes today, I met up with Ms. Nelson who was looking through my selected artwork "Angel," she greeted with a smile "Your aunt just dropped this off."

"Yeah. I didn't want to accidentally ruin anything. I went jogging with Jeremy this morning," I explained.

"That's perfectly alright. May I ask… what is she doing here?" my Art teacher frowned.

I shrugged "Mr. Tanner wanted to rant to her about me and Jeremy. He went off at me in class earlier as well."

"That man," she muttered "I really don't know what is going through his mind." Ms. Nelson studied several of my paintings closer "These are really good. I will send this to my friend and I will tell you as soon as I hear anything back."

A small smile lit up on my face. These drawings and paintings were me, one hundred percent and the fact that she liked them was nice. I usually painted what I felt and as such, some of the artworks were a bit darker or more mysterious but that was the charm of it, right? "Thank you, ma'am." I walked out of the classroom and saw my aunt already waiting for me. She looked flustered and kind of downtrodden "What happened?"

She snorted "You're right. That guy is an ass. He told me that I had to take a firmer hand with you and that I should consider transferring the guardianship to someone else."

"What?" I exclaimed, making Blue bump my leg gently "Don't listen to him, Aunt Jenna. You're doing great… It's a new situation for all of us."

She wrapped one of her arms around my shoulders "Thank you. Hey, did you know that Jeremy was missing classes?"

I shifted a bit "Yeah. He was with the nurse most of the time, said he hadn't been feeling well for a few days. Why?"

"Just Mr. Tanner, I guess," she sighed "Never mind. How about Tacos for dinner?"

I shrugged "If you want. I don't mind either way… Maybe text Jay and ask him what he wants?" We got into the car with Blue harnessed in the back.

"Where is Jeremy anyway?"

"At the hospital," I told her "He wanted to see how Vicki was doing. As far as he told me, he was the one who found her at the party yesterday."

Jenna waggled her eyebrows "Is there something between them?"

"I don't think so," I frowned "I mean, Jay is friendly with her but from what I've seen she's not really his type. You'll have to ask him about that though."

A while later, we were milling around the living room, waiting for my brother to come back. When he did Jenna immediately grabbed him and shoved him onto the sofa next to me "I picked up dinner. Tacos. I had an urge for guacamole and Angel didn't care."

Jay looked at me in surprise and I shrugged "She had a meeting with Tanner today."

"Ah," he grimaced "So, what do I get from the bag of mysteries?"

I poked his side "You're going to have to go hungry. There's no way we got enough food for all of us."

Jenna rolled her eyes at us and reached into the bag "You can either have a Chicken Taco or a Burrito. We also have Nachos and Guacamole."

"Did you buy the entire store?" the younger boy mused "Hey, where's Elena?"

I shrugged "Either at the Grill or with her new boyfriend."

Our aunt whipped her head around to us and stared for a few seconds "Elena has a boyfriend?"

"I don't know if they're actually together," I explained "But she and the new guy… Salvatore constantly stare at each other. It's creepy."

Jeremy laughed at me, choking on the nacho he just put in his mouth. He swallowed quickly "That's only because you have never been interested in anyone before."

I crossed my arms at my younger brother "That's not true. There's a difference between creepy and romantic. Elena is definitely on the creepy side."

"On a different note, do either of you plan on going to the Comet celebration tomorrow?" Jenna asked between bites.

I shook my head "You know I'm not one for celebrations."

"Oh come on, Angel. Go out and have fun. Live a little," my aunt encouraged "I'm sure Jeremy would gladly spend the evening with you?"

My brother shrugged "If you want to, I don't have a problem with it."

I sighed and curled into a ball. Just thinking about going to the celebration was making me nervous but I also knew that neither of them would leave me alone until I joined Jay. They got that I didn't like crowds, that didn't mean that they encouraged my hermit behaviour though.

The next day was a half day at school because everyone was preparing for the Night of the Comet and the program that was planned. I was with Elena and Bonnie, handing out pamphlets. Usually, I wouldn't have bothered but Caroline asked and she was the only nice one out of the three of them, so I thought I could do her the favour.

"Tonight, the night of the comet!" Bonnie called "Would you like a program?" She turned to Elena and continued handing out programs "Would you like a program? He didn't call, huh?"

"Or text," my sister sighed in disappointment "But I realized we never even exchanges that stuff. We've never gotten to the texting part."

Bonnie made a sound in the back of her throat "That's an important milestone in any relationship." I rolled my eyes at their gossiping and handed out some pamphlets to passers-by.

"Isn't it? The timing is wrong, anyway."

The Bennett girl sighed "When is it ever right?"

"At least I put myself out there," Elena argued "Not like some people. Seriously, do you see that?"

I stiffened at her comment. This wasn't unusual. She always did like to pick apart what I was wearing or my hair or whatever she had a problem with at that time "What's your problem?" I demanded quietly.

She sneered down at me. Curse my height, I swear "You're my problem. Ever since you came, you ruined everything. You couldn't even give me one moment at my parent's funeral. It's all about you and I'm sick of it."

I flinched back from her. Was she serious? Everything she said before, I didn't really care about. I had worse from my relatives… But this? She was blaming me for things I really couldn't influence. I handed Bonnie the rest of the pamphlets and shook my head at my so-called sister "They were my parents too, you know?" With those words, I picked up Blue's leash from the ground and walked past Caroline to the Grill. Inside the Grill, I could see Jay talking to Vicki. They looked pretty friendly, so I just crawled into one of the booths at the back of the restaurant and cuddled with my Service Dog. Elena had never been nice to me but her accusing me of ruining our parents' funeral was just low. It's not like I didn't try to control my reaction to the stupid graveyard.

"Hey, Angel," the waiter, Mark, greeted me with a happy smile "Can I get you anything?"

I shook my head "Just a bit of water for Blue, maybe. Thanks though, Mark."

"No problem," he waved off "Ice water like usual?"

"If you could?"

Mark nodded and walked off, coming back moments later with a cup of water with crushed ice. He handed it to me "Here you go. If you need anything, just call me."

I smiled shyly "I will." As soon as he was gone, I held the cup in down in front of Blue, giggling when he practically attacked the water "Guess you were thirsty," I murmured, petting his head. From my place in the booth, I watched a dark-haired stranger at the bar. I felt the same thing from him as I did from Stefan. Funny how I never got his first name until an hour or so ago… Maybe I should pay more attention sometimes although in this case, it really wasn't important.

"Hey, Tiny," Jay greeted, sliding into the booth opposite of me "You doing okay?"

I smiled weakly "Yeah, sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

He gave me a look "Oh, I don't know," he deadpanned "Seriously, Angel. What is going on?"

"Just Elena being Elena," I murmured "I saw you with Vicki earlier. Is she doing okay?"

Jeremy nodded "She still hurts a lot but other than that… She'll be fine, I think."

Just then Tyler Lockwood stormed up to our table "What do you think you're doing with my girlfriend?"

"I was asking her how she was feeling," Jay shot back "Is that a crime now?"

Tyler scoffed "It's not like she'll ever go for you."

"I don't want anything from Vicki," my brother pointed out in confusion "Why do you think that?"

"Because you're all over her," the mayor's son exclaimed angrily, grabbing my brother's shirt roughly.

I shot up from the bench and grabbed the other boy's arm "Tyler, let go of him."

"No. I want him to leave my girlfriend alone."

"He doesn't want your girlfriend," I replied, putting more pressure on the arm that was clutching my brother's shirt "Let him go."

Tyler's head whirled around to me and he glared "What would you know anyway?" he spat harshly "It's not like anyone likes you."

I hid my hurt at the comment "Maybe, maybe not. But I know my brother."

"Just leave me alone, freak," the Lockwood boy growled.

_Flashback_

" _Dad," a four-year-old Dudley whined "The freak won't leave me alone."_

_Uncle Vernon lumbered over to the kitchen where I was washing the dishes from their dinner "You like bothering good and honest people?"_

" _N – No, Uncle Vernon," I stuttered, keeping my head down "I'm sorry, sir."_

" _Sorry is not good enough," the fat man spat, raising his hand. I flinched and accidentally dropped the plate I was drying. The hand came down and the force of the blow threw me from the chair no problem "Now you've done it, girl."_

_Flashback End_

"–gel? Angel?" Jeremy shook my shoulder gently "Come on."

I blinked, startled. There was a huge furry ball in form of Blue on my lap. Did I have a flashback? Oh… Tyler called me a freak and it reminded me of what Uncle Vernon always called me. Hell, I thought my name was freak until I started primary school "Jay?"

"I'm here," he assured me "Are you back now?"

I nodded, looking around to see most of the people inside the Grill giving us space. Most locals were aware that they should give me space whenever I had an episode but it didn't make them any less worried.

Jeremy held out a hand to help me up "Do you want to go home now?"

"I can go alone," I murmured "If you want to stay then stay. I'm the older one after all."

"Sure?" he questioned, staring into my eyes.

I nodded at him "Yes. I'll see you at home, brother."

On my way out of the restaurant, I was stopped by Tyler "Angel…" I looked up at him silently, unsure about what he would do "I – I'm sorry. I didn't mean to call you that."

"It's fine," I told him quietly "Just… don't do that again?"

"I promise," he grinned "Sorry about Jeremy too. I guess I'm just worried."

I raised an eyebrow "Aren't you the one cheating on her? Listen, Tyler. I am grateful that you apologized but you shouldn't have had to do it in the first place. Now, I just want to go home, so…" The mayor's son froze before he stepped to the side wordlessly "Thank you."


	9. 1x03 Friday Night Bites

I was standing next to Jeremy in front of the school when Vicki came up to us, smiling "Hey, Jer, Angel."

"Hello, Vicki," I greeted quietly "Are you feeling better?"

"Much," she nodded "Hey, I scored two tickets to the Posers Saturday night. They're playing at the Rat."

Jay looked up at her weirdly "You and Tyler have fun."

"Don't be like that," the older girl pouted "Come on. I want you to go. We're friends, right?"

I looked from one to the other and then slowly backed off "I have to… you know, go. If I'm late for Tanner's class he'll… Bye."

I heard their laughter trail after me as I hurried through the corridors to the one class I hated the most. History every day wouldn't be half as bad if Tanner wasn't the teacher. God, I just wished some animal would have attacked that guy instead of Vicki.

In class, Bonnie was doodling on her notebook, I was petting Blue and Elena was whispering to Stefan. Needless to say, no one paid Mr. Tanner any attention.

"World War Two ended in… Anyone got anything? Miss Juan? 1945." He glared around the classroom to look for his next victim "Pearl Harbour? Miss Gilbert?"

My head snapped up but I relaxed when I saw him angled toward Elena "Hm?" my sister blinked, startled.

"Pearl Harbour?"

Elena froze with wide eyes "Um…" How could she not know? This was supposed to be general knowledge, right?

"December 7, 1941," Stefan completed smoothly.

Tanner turned to the Salvatore in irritation "Thank you, Miss Gilbert."

"Anytime," he grinned back cheekily. I smirked at his attitude.

"Very well." Tanner straightened and I could see the challenge in his eyes "The fall of the Berlin Wall."

"1989," Stefan answered immediately "I'm good with dates, sir."

The History teacher sneered "Are you? How good? Keep it to the year. Civil Rights Act."

"1964."

"John F. Kennedy assassination."

"1963."

"Martin Luther King."

"'68."

"Lincoln."

"1865." I would have known most of those but Stefan just looked bored. Well, he probably was while Tanner got more and more frustrated and irritated.

"Roe vs. Wade."

"1973."

"Brown vs. Board."

"1954."

"The battle of Gettysburg."

"1863."

"Korean War."

"1950 to 1953."

Tanner suddenly grinned "Ha! It ended in '52."

Stefan blinked "Uh, actually, sir, it was '53."

"Look it up, somebody. Quickly," Tanner snapped, his eyes still on Stefan.

I shifted in my seat "Stefan's right, sir. It was 1953."

"Did you look it up?" he glared.

I rolled my eyes "No, sir. But you gave me an assignment on the Korean War last year. It ended in 1953."

"They're right," Conner called, looking at the screen of his phone with a badly hidden grin. Everyone in here was glad to see Tanner taken down and by a student no less.

After school, Elena cornered me when I was about to head home "Can you cook dinner? I'm having friends over and I don't want to spend any money."

I blinked at her "Why would I?"

"Because I'm asking you nicely," she grounded out.

"Actually, you're demanding that I cook for you," I pointed out "You're lucky. I was going to cook anyway. I'll just make more."

She grinned in victory "Make sure it's something good." With those words, she was gone and I stared after her. What the hell? She didn't even say thank you… Well, I wouldn't have done it for her if I didn't plan on cooking. Jeremy wanted me to make a one-pot pasta with chicken and different veggies. The last one turned out to be awesome and I really wanted to try some different ones.

As soon as I arrived, I prepared the stuff I would need, so I could get it started once I was done with my homework. Tanner had given us a ridiculously long assignment along with my English and Maths homework. When Elena arrived with Bonnie three hours later, I was almost finished with the dinner.

"I don't want you to stay down here," Elena told me with a small, almost unnoticeable sneer.

Bonnie looked at my sister in surprise "I don't mind if she stays here. I mean, she cooked dinner. The least you could do is let her eat with us."

I blinked "It's fine. Jeremy and I already ate." I escaped from the kitchen and went up the stairs with my Service Dog hot on my heels. His vest was off, as it always is when I'm at home. Sometimes it was difficult dealing with people trying to pet or distract him from his task but thankfully most of the town knew what to do and what not to do around us by now. It was only small children and visitors now or when mom and dad took us out of town.

An hour later, I noticed that my water bottle was empty, so I knew I had to go downstairs to grab another one. I hesitated but in the end, I had to. Tap water tasted kind of gross and I was really thirsty.

Blue shot off into the living room and I could hear him panting happily. Weird… He usually only did that when Caroline was here. As far as I knew only Elena, Bonnie and Stefan were here right now. I leaned against the door frame and blinked. Inside our living room, there were the three I mentioned earlier along with Caroline and the black-haired guy I had seen at the Grill the other day.

"Angel," the blonde cheerleader grinned, pulling me into a hug once she saw me standing in the doorway.

I stiffened in surprise "What are you doing here, Caroline?"

"Oh, I thought I would bring dessert. You cooked, right? It tasted awesome." She turned around and pulled me towards the others "Have you met Damon? He's Stefan's brother. Damon, this is Angel. Elena's younger sister."

Damon smiled and the feeling I got from both brothers intensified and I shifted "Nice to meet you," I nodded and bent down to pet Blue.

"Is he yours?" Stefan asked "I've seen him around school…"

Elena rolled her eyes and huffed when Caroline answered for me "Blue is Angel's Service Dog. He is allowed everywhere."

"Why do you need a Service Dog?" Damon questioned.

I shrugged and looked down. I didn't want to tell them. Of course, it wouldn't be too long until they find out but still.

"Oh for God's sake," Elena snapped "She is a nutjob."

I turned my head to look at my sister. Why was I even surprised anymore? She always called me names and most of the time people believed her over me. Elena couldn't do anything wrong after all "Just drop it," I murmured, avoiding eye contact with anyone.

There was a moment of silence before Caroline spoke up again "I cannot believe that Mr. Tanner let you on the team. Tyler must be seething but good for you. Go for it."

Damon nodded but it had something different, something wrong with it. Dangerous… "That's what I always tell him. You have to engage. You can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you. You have to go get it."

"You got on the team?" I blinked in surprise "Congrats."

Stefan smiled at me "Thank you, Angel."

"Yeah," Caroline snorted "Elena wasn't so lucky today. It's only because you missed summer camp. God, I don't know how you're ever going to learn the routines."

"I'll work with her," Bonnie promised, nudging Elena.

The blonde nodded thoughtfully "I guess we can put her in the back." No matter how petty that sounded, I enjoyed Caroline talking to my sister that way. It was giving her a taste of her own medicine. Something I never really wanted to do.

"You know," Damon started, staring down at the girl next to him with some sort of disgust "You don't seem like the cheerleader type, Elena."

"Oh, it's just 'cause her parents died. Yeah, I mean, she's just totally going through a blah phase. She used to be way more fun and I say that with complete sensitivity."

I flinched when she just blurted out that our parents died and stood up "Excuse me," I whispered, escaping the room before anyone could open their mouths. While I was coming to terms with Grayson and Miranda not being here anymore, it was still hard to hear people talking about them being gone. I curled up on top of my bed, letting tears fall onto Blue's coat.

"Stop acting like they were your real parents," Elena snarled, stomping up the stairs and closer to me.

I gaped at her "They were my parents. It doesn't matter if they only adopted me," I corrected her.

Elena snorted "Yeah right. You even ruined their funeral. You should just fuck off and go back to where you came from eight years ago."

"Why do you hate me that much?" I couldn't help but ask "I never did anything to you."

"You took my parents from me. They never paid me any mind when you had one of your stupid panic attacks," she shouted.

"I have fucking PTSD, Elena. Do you honestly think that I like being like this? I hated my life before Zach found me in the forest." A second later, I was facing the wall and my cheek was burning. Did she just slap me? For telling her what I felt? Fuck her and fuck everything. Why am I even trying? "You know what, just leave me alone." I turned around and ran to my bedroom with Blue. After the door closed behind me, I sank to the floor, tears running down my face again. I was grateful for both Jenna and Jeremy. They were always there for me, as was Uncle John. Sometimes I wished that I had taken him up on the offer of living with him but then… I liked it here and the memories I made in this house were what held me over.

A knock on the door surprised me. I got up and quickly tried to erase the evidence of my crying fit. The person on the other side surprised me. I wasn't sure who I was expecting but it wasn't him "Damon, right?"

"Can I come in?" he asked, looking down at me with a look I couldn't interpret.

I stepped to the side and closed the door behind him, putting up a silencing spell out of habit. Whenever I went to sleep or when Jeremy came in here, I put up a spell "What is it?"

"I just wanted to see if you were okay after earlier. I heard what your sister said to you," he admitted.

I blinked in surprise "How did you hear that from the living room?" Without him noticing, I sent out a bit of my magic, scanning him as thoroughly as I could. His heart was beating slower than that of a normal human, his body seemed to be literally frozen in time… It was like he wasn't aging at all anymore and – fangs? Uncle John had told me about the vampires that were in town in the 1800s and how the Founder's council dealt with them. He made them seem like fairytales but I wasn't stupid and put one and one together. Vampires? And here I was thinking my uncle was joking and I finally escaped the hell of a world.

The now identified vampire shrugged unconcernedly "You weren't very quiet… or at least Elena wasn't."

I sank down on the edge of my bed with a tired sigh "Thanks for checking up on me but I'm okay. You should probably head back down before I get shouted at for hogging Caroline's date."

"Is that likely?" he frowned in concern.

"Wouldn't be the first time," I told with a groan "They never liked me much but at least Caroline turned around from what she was like when we were young."

Damon stiffened lightly at the implication "Anyway, it was nice to meet you, Angel. I'm glad that you're okay. Maybe we'll see each other again soon."

"Maybe we will," I agreed "Thank you again. Bye, Damon." He nodded, walking out of my room again. I let out a breath. It wasn't that I was scared of him… I knew I could protect myself if I had to but I didn't understand why he seemed to care about me. It made no sense.

The next day, I was forced to go to the first home game of the football season. As far as I knew it was Timberwolves against Central High Lions but I could be wrong. It wasn't like Tanner practically shouted it a second ago. Earlier, I watched Elena getting a necklace from Stefan. He told her that there was a herb in the middle of it and I had to bite back the chuckle. At least he was trying to protect her from being compelled.

I was standing away from everyone closer to Elena's car than the field but I liked it that way. Better than being in the middle of all the shit anyway.

"You scared me," I heard Elena gasp somewhere to my right.

Damon who was standing next to my sister and chuckled "I'm hiding from Caroline."

"And why is that?" my sister demanded.

"I needed a break," the vampire admitted "She talks more than I can listen."

Elena rolled her eyes "That could be a sign."

Damon shrugged "Well, she's awfully young."

"Not much younger than you." Yeah right. If I was right this Damon Salvatore was the same one who lived here in 1864.

"I don't see it going anywhere in the bigger picture. I think she'd drive me crazy."

Elena sighed at the older guy and immediately jumped to her friend's defense "Caroline does have some really annoying traits but we've been friends since the first grade and that means something to me."

Damon cracked a small smile and stepped closer to her "Duly noted. I'm sorry if I make you uncomfortable. That's not my intention."

"Yes, it is," Elena said, calling his bullshit "Otherwise you wouldn't put an alternate meaning behind everything you say."

Damon smirked "You're right. I do have other intentions but so do you."

"Really?" my sister raised an eyebrow and I blinked in surprise at both of them. Elena was way too ready to flirt with the older Salvatore while he just wanted to mess with his younger brother. I wasn't really sure what to think about him but he probably had his reasons.

"Mm-hmm. I see them," Damon murmured, leaning closer "You want me."

Was he trying to compel her? "Excuse me?" Elena exclaimed.

"I get to you. You find yourself drawn to me. You think about me even when you don't want to think about me. I bet you even dreamed about me. And right now…" he paused dramatically "You want to kiss me."

A second later, there was a loud slap and my sister glared at the vampire harshly "What the hell? I don't know what game you're trying to play with Stefan here but I don't want to be part of it. And I don't know what happened in the past but let's get one thing straight… I am not Katherine." After she said these words, she stormed off in a huff.

"She's wearing Vervain, you know?" I told the vampire, making my presence known to him "Your brother gave her a necklace earlier."

Damon blinked at me "You know?"

"I'm a Gilbert. My uncle told me some stories even though he probably didn't think I would take them literally," I grinned sheepishly "What's the deal with my sister anyway? Why are you two so fixated on her?"

The vampire growled lowly "That's none of your business, is it?"

I raised my hands in surrender "Alright. I should tell you to look out though. Elena chose your brother. You should do yourself a favour and look for someone else. It will only hurt you in the long run." I tugged on Blue's leash lightly and turned to walk away "Oh you should be careful with the 'animal attacks'. The council is still active."

I didn't see Damon for the rest of the day but I knew that someone or something must have pissed him off. Stefan wouldn't have killed anyone… He seemed too much like a pacifist for that, so I assumed it was the older brother who killed Tanner. Not too much of a loss there. Sure, he was a human being but he was an asshole and it couldn't have happened to a better person.


	10. 1x04 Family Ties

I was studying for my Maths test, giggling at my aunt's antics. Jenna was currently cursing at the television – or rather she was cussing out Logan Fell.

"Scumball. Scumbucket."

Elena walked into the kitchen, a confused expression on her face "Who are you talking to?"

Aunt Jenna jabbed her finger in the TV's direction "Him."

"The news guy?"

"Also known as Logan 'Scum' Fell. Did your mom ever tell you why I moved away from Mystic Falls?" Jenna question, hitting the back of my head lightly when I started chuckling again. God, was there anyone she wasn't with? I mean there was Logan Fell and Uncle John that I knew of and probably still some others.

Elena's eyes widened "Oh, no way. You and him?" She studied the screen intently "He's cute."

"He is not cute," Jenna denied "There's nothing cute about him. What are you doing with that?" 'That' turned out to be some of mom and dad's stuff that was handed down through the family.

"I went yesterday and got it from the safe deposit box. Mom had told Mrs. Lockwood, she would loan it to the founder's council for their heritage display," my sister explained with a shrug.

Aunt Jenna squinted at one of the pieces "Is that grandma Beth's wedding ring?"

The brown-haired girl nodded "Originally it was great-great-grandma Mary's wedding ring."

"How much do you think this stuff is worth?" Jeremy questioned, coming up behind me. He reached over my shoulder to pluck the ring from the table to study it closer "You know, like on eBay?"

"You're not going to find out," Elena snapped, snatching the ring back from out little brother.

I rolled my eyes at her bitchiness "He was joking, Elena. Relax."

"Don't tell me what to do, Angel," she hissed and stalked to the door once the doorbell rang.

Jenna, Jay and I exchanged glances and shrugged in sync. Well, just another day in our lives… I grinned up at our aunt cheekily "So… You and Fell?"

She took an offended breath and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl behind her "Don't make me throw this at you," she threatened, an amused glint in her eyes.

I held up my hands in mock fright "Oh no," I gasped "Fruit! You have found my weakness. Mercy."

Jay was laughing at us and soon all three of us had tears in our eyes from laughing so hard. Sometimes I was sad that Elena was missing out on moments like these but it was her own fault. If she didn't spend all her time with her friends or Stefan then it might have worked but she doesn't even try.

We messed around some more before I remembered something "Jenna? Can I borrow your car? I have to pick up Hero from Laura's today. I completely forgot."

My aunt looked at me "When do you plan on going?"

"Around the same time you leave for the party," I told her "I thought maybe Jay would like to come with me?" The last part was directed at my younger brother.

Jeremy's head shot up "I'd love to. You haven't even told us what breed Hero is."

Jenna sighed "I wanted to come with you but sadly I have to make an appearance at the party. Especially since Mrs. Lockwood practically forces me every time."

I got up from my chair to hug her "It's fine, Aunt Jenna. I'm just glad that most of the people know that I don't like going to these stupid parties and whatever else they come up with."

"You can't always get out of it," my aunt reminded me.

I laughed "But I can sure as hell try. I'm not even really part of a founding family."

"Neither am I," she pointed out with a grin.

"Too true," I sighed "Don't you have to get ready now?"

Jenna checked the time and cursed under her breath before sprinting up the stairs in a hurry. I looked at Jay and we burst out laughing again. This was so typically Jenna. She has always been bad with judging the time she still had and what time it was. If not for her phone, she wouldn't get anything done but that's what made her Jenna. While she might not be the most mature guardian we could have had, she was amazing and took good care of us. I didn't care what Tanner told our aunt. She was my aunt, my family and I loved her the way she was.

"Tiny, are we bringing Blue with us as well?" Jay questioned, clearing the dining room table from the stuff he had been working on earlier.

I rolled my eyes "Yeah. Blue and Hero should have the chance to know each other. Plus, I think Laura would like to see her former pup again."

"Awesome," he grinned. Let's go then." He jumped up and grabbed my arm.

I chuckled at his enthusiasm "I'm glad that some things never change." Jeremy was always so… different around me and Jenna, even John sometimes. He was less sad. I think it had something to do with the fact that he loved taking care of me. Not that I necessarily needed his help, it still felt nice to have people you could depend on. It gave him something to focus on other than our parents' death and me a person to lean on.

When we were about to leave, the doorbell rang. Who would be here at this time? Wasn't it almost time for the founder's party? I walked over to the front door and opened it just before Jeremy was down the last steps "Tyler? What are you doing here?"

The mayor's son shifted a bit "I'm here for my mom. I was supposed to pick up a box of stuff."

"Right here," Elena said, shoving me to the side roughly "Please be careful."

"Yeah, be careful with it, dick," Jeremy sneered lightly.

I threw him a look "Jay, calm down." Ever since the Lockwood boy insulted me at the Grill, Jeremy wasn't too nice to him. It didn't matter that I forgave Tyler already. In Jay's eyes, it never should have happened at all "Come on, let's go upstairs. We still have another hour and a half before we have to leave."

"You're not going to the party?" Tyler questioned, looking down at me with a quirk of his eyebrows.

I stared at him "You honestly think I'd go to a party voluntarily? I mean, seriously?"

He snorted "Point taken. Thanks for the stuff. I'll see you at school, Angel, Jeremy."

About half an hour later, I was stretched out on Jeremy's bed reading 'To Kill a Mockingbird' while he was at his desk, listening to music with his headphones. I didn't even notice Elena coming in until Jeremy groaned in pain.

"Ah! God, what now?" he demanded in annoyance.

Elena crossed her arms "The pocket watch. Where is it?"

Pocket watch? Did she mean the one that belonged to Jonathan Gilbert? The one that supposedly shows the location of any vampire nearby "What watch?"

"The one you stole from mom's box," she snapped "Mrs. Lockwood just called me, freaking out. It was on the list, Jeremy. And she can't find it and she thinks she's the one who lost it."

Jeremy threw me a quick look and I shrugged. The watch was his anyway. Why should he give it to anyone else if it was one of the things he had from Gray? "Maybe she did. Maybe Tyler took it."

"Don't even play that card," our sister lectured "Jeremy, you took it. If I go online, am I going to find it on eBay?"

I shot up from the bed "Are you kidding me right now, Elena? The watch is Jeremy's. Just leave it alone."

"It's not his. It's dad's," Elena pointed out, an annoyed look on her face.

"It's supposed to be mine," Jay argued, clutching the pocket watch in his hand "Dad said it goes to the first-born son. His father gave it to him and now it's mine."

Elena grabbed it from his fingers "Mom promised Mrs. Lockwood. I'm going to give this to her." She put it in her pocket and went to stomp out of the room.

With a small gesture, I had the watch in my hand without any of my siblings seeing what I did. Once she was out of the room I walked over to my brother and put a hand on his shoulder "Are you okay?"

"No," he murmured "Why does she have to be such a bitch all the time?"

I sighed "I don't know, Jay." Then I took his hand and put the watch into it with a small smirk "Keep it safe, would you?

"How did you…?" His wide eyes met my mischievous ones. I wanted to tell him about what I could do a while ago but I never found the right moment. Something had always happened as soon as I decided to broach the subject.

I ruffled his hair "I'll tell you… In the car. We have to leave now." The drive to Laura's would take us about an hour, so we'd have plenty of time to talk. The question was only how I should tell him. I mean, it's not normal for someone to be magical or from another world, right? Hopefully, he'll believe me though.

"So?" He raised an eyebrow "We're in the car now."

I smirked at his impatience. I hadn't even pulled out of the driveway yet and he was already like a dog with a bone… "Listen, you're probably going to think that I'm crazy but please. I promise that whatever I tell you is the truth."

"You're scaring me, Angel," Jeremy murmured.

I took a deep breath "You know how I read the Harry Potter books like a million times?" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him nod with a small frown "My real name is Angel Potter. I – I was in the graveyard with Voldemort and then there was this white light and… The next thing I knew was waking up in dad's office."

"You're kidding, right?" Jeremy laughed hysterically "This is impossible."

"Don't you think I know that, Jay?" I questioned tiredly "But think about it. It would fit, right? The scar on my leg is from the Acromantula in the maze and the one on my arm is from Wormtail…"

His laughter stopped suddenly and his breathing got more erratic "You're not lying," Jay breathed "I always know when you're lying and you're really telling the truth… How?"

I shrugged "I honestly don't know, Jay. I wish I did but I don't know. Earlier, I used wandless magic to get the watch from Elena's pocket. It took me ages to get some of the spells down without a wand but now, it got way easier. I only have to will my magic to do what I want it to do."

"Will you show me something later?" my brother questioned, his eyes lighting up at the aspect of seeing something so… magical.

I turned my head towards him "You don't hate me now?" I murmured quietly.

"What? No!" he exclaimed "Yes, it's something new but I'll get used to it. Will you tell me some more about your life before you came to us now? I'm guessing you only kept quiet because you didn't want to reveal your magic?"

"You really want to know more?"

He snorted "Of course. I just found out that my sister is a witch. It's awesome."

"You are something else, Jeremy," I laughed, relieved that he took it so well. Although I was worried that he took it too well. I only ever had bad reactions to my magic. The Dursleys, my teachers, other children. They never reacted well to my freakishness.

The rest of the car ride was spent in a comfortable silence and soon we pulled up to Laura's house. Like the last time I was here, she was already waiting for us outside, only this time there was a puppy next to her on the porch. As soon as I was out of the car, I recognized the tricoloured bundle of fur as Hero. While Blue was a Border Collie, Hero was a mix of two different breeds which made him even cuter in my eyes. He was part German Shepherd and a part Siberian Husky. I think Laura called the breed a Gerberian Shepsky or something of that sort.

I didn't bother with the leash when I let Blue out of the car, instead, I walked towards the dog trainer with a small smile "Hello Laura."

"Angel," she smiled "You have grown up into a beautiful girl. And this must be Jeremy, right? Your younger brother?"

I nodded "Thank you for agreeing to meet us at this time. I know it's quite late already."

She waved my apologies off "It's alright. I'm happy that Hero here is getting a good home. Blue certainly seems to be happy with you."

"I'm already afraid of leaving him at home. At least he won't be alone," I murmured, petting the Border Collie's head gently.

Jeremy was sitting on the steps next to Hero and studied him curiously "What breed is he? I don't really recognize it."

"He's a mixed breed, Jay. German Shepherd and Husky," I replied, looking down into my new Service Dog's bright blue eyes "Anyway, we should probably head back now. We have school tomorrow and I don't think Aunt Jenna will be happy if we're late."

Laura held out her hand for me to shake "It's was nice to see you again, Angel. I'd be happy to hear from you again when you have the need of another dog."

I smiled at the older woman "Let's hope that I'll be able to go out on my own by then but we'll just have to see. Thank you again. If Hero is only half as well trained as Blue then I'm sure we'll get along nicely."

"Goodnight," Jeremy waved at Laura, taking Hero's leash and his vests from her hands.

It didn't take long for us to be back on the road with two sleeping dogs in the backseat. The first thirty minutes I was just listening to the radio playing quiet songs in the background. That was until Jeremy decided to ask a question "Hey, Angel?"

"Hm?" I hummed in acknowledgment.

"Can you turn into an animal as well?" he questioned.

I blinked at his question "Actually I'm working on it. I can only get half the transformation down though. But I guess that's normal. Maybe I just have to concentrate more."

"What animal are you?"

I smirked at him "Now, why would I tell you that?"

He groaned "Because you're a nice older sister and don't want to torture your brother with a guessing game?"

"I don't think so, runt," I grinned "It's my job to make your life as miserable as I can, right?"

"No," Jeremy pouted childishly "Please?"

I shook my head at his expression "Let's make a deal. If you haven't figured it out by the end of the next month then I'll tell you."

"That's still one and a half months," he whined jokingly "I'm going to die of curiosity."

"Well, you know what they say about curiosity and the cat," I teased "At least you can remember that satisfaction brought it back."

Jeremy laughed and pulled at a strand of my long red hair "You're mean. Fine… But you'll tell me other stuff, right?"

"I promised you already," I reminded him "You're really the best brother I could ask for, you know? You didn't even call me crazy or a freak… Why?"

Jay hummed "I remember the stories Uncle John told us as a kid. You know the ones from the journals? It has vampires, werewolves and witches in there as well. It all sounded way too real for it to just be a story. You might not be like those witches in the stories but you're still my sister. My witchy sister but my sister nevertheless. I get along with you way better than I ever got along with Elena. She never wanted to spend time with her younger brother… You never cared about what others thought…"

By the end of his speech, I had tears in my eyes "God, Jay… I love you, brother. So much and I'll do everything in my power to protect you, Jenna and even John."


	11. 1x06 Lost Girls

It was several days after I collected Hero from Laura when I heard loud voices from Elena's room. I was supposed to meet Ms. Nelson at the Grill tomorrow morning. She told me that she got an answer from her friend about my paintings yesterday. I wasn't sure what to think about it though… Did I want him to like my art or was I happy with the way it was at the moment? It would actually be pretty neat if they were interested…

"All those animal attacks, those people who died…" my sister shouted, sounding terrified. Well, it seemed as if she finally found out what the Salvatores were. It took her longer than I thought considering she's dating one of them.

"That was Damon," Stefan defended himself.

I could practically see Elena's frown "Damon?"

"Yes. I don't drink human blood," the vampire told her. The only reason I could hear them was because I was standing right under the open window to her room… I didn't really make a habit of eavesdropping on people if it's not important "That's not how I choose to survive but Damon does. I'll explain everything to you but I beg you, Elena, do not tell anybody."

"How can you ask me that?" she demanded.

Stefan sighed "Because you know this is dangerous for so many reasons. You can hate me but I need you to trust me." That was a bit of an oxymoron. I wouldn't trust anyone I hated… It would be like saying that I trusted Voldemort or Uncle Vernon or even Dumbledore. The thought alone was incredibly amusing.

"Just go," Elena sighed "Just go, please. Go. If you mean me no harm, then you'll go."

"I never wanted this," the vampire told her sincerely, climbing out of the window above me.

Just as he wanted to run off, I stepped forward "She'll come around, you know."

"Angel? You heard?"

I smiled lightly "I knew actually and Damon confirmed it before he killed Tanner. Just know that I won't tell anyone and Jay won't either."

Stefan blinked in confusion "Jeremy knows as well?"

"Our Uncle John is part of the council. He and dad told us stories about vampires and everything when we were children. They were a bit too insistent for it to be fake," I shrugged.

Stefan sighed and ran a hand through his hair "You should go back into the house. Make sure that your brother stays inside as well. Damon is out there and I don't want you to get hurt."

"I can take care of myself, thank you very much," I told him but turned to the door nevertheless. I had promised Jay that I would tell him some more about my old life anyway. So far I had only really gotten through my childhood and my First Year at Hogwarts. It was a bit easier since he read the books as well but since there were quite some differences it took us a while to get through "Goodnight, Stefan." I stepped through the glass door and into the living room.

Half an hour later, Jeremy and I were up in his room. I put up a silencing charm and now we were curled up on his bed with both Blue and Hero to keep us company. The two dogs got along pretty well. There was a bit of jealousy when I started taking Hero with me when I went out but as soon as he saw that we were still giving him attention, Blue calmed down.

"So, what happened in your Second Year?" Jay questioned.

I thought back for a moment and sighed "Well, after the stay at the Dursleys – which ended with me locked into a room for almost a month with the bare minimum of food – I stayed at the Weasleys' until school started. It was there when I noticed that Ron was only in it for the money. He was talking to his little sister about her getting her own share once she befriends me." I went on about explaining what happened with the Chamber of Secrets and Lockhart.

_Flashback_

_I was in detention with Professor Lockhart for flying a car to school. At the moment, he had me addressing his fan mail letters. Seriously? Why the heck do I have to do that? I would honestly rather scrub cauldrons for Snape than be in a room alone with this creep. Ever since we met in the bookshop, he hadn't left me alone. Always giving me stupid tips and whatever else he could think of._

" _So, Angel," he spoke up after a few minutes of silence "Have you already managed to use some of my tips?"_

_I blinked up at him "No, sir."_

" _You really should, you know," Lockhart murmured, leaning closer to where I was sitting "Being famous is having influence."_

_It's not like I asked to be famous. I would rather live a normal, boring life with my parents than to be this celebrity. The worst thing was that I was pretty sure I could vaguely remember the night I almost died… No, the night I should have died "Yes, sir." I concentrated on the names and addresses in front of me, ignoring the Professor politely. Not only did I not need his help, I didn't want it either._

_I jumped when I felt a hand on my arm and stared at the Professor in confusion. He had stood up, leaning over my shoulder "I was asking whether you were done."_

" _No, sir," I answered uncomfortably, scooting away from the man as far as I could._

" _I think you did enough for today," Lockhart whispered._

_Flashback End_

Now, he never did anything other than being the creepy stalker he was but that's only what I remember. It was still uncomfortable when a grown man acts that way towards a twelve-year-old.

I talked and talked with Jeremy asking questions whenever he wanted to know something. In the end, we fell asleep curled together with the dogs until the next morning. A glance at the clock revealed that I only had about half an hour left before I had to go to the Grill.

"Crap," I cursed under my breath and jumped out of the bed and over to my room. I quickly threw on some clothes, readying Hero at the same time.

I arrived at the Grill completely out of breath but on time… Okay, maybe I was a few minutes late but I was almost on time. I looked around the Grill, looking for Ms. Nelson. She was over at one of the back walls in a booth already, so I walked over "Morning."

She looked up at me with a smile "Angel," she greeted.

"Have you been waiting for long?" I questioned "I overslept."

"I only arrived a few minutes ago as well, so it's no problem. Now, let's get down to business." Ms. Nelson held out a piece of paper to me with a grin "I hold here the response of my friend to your portfolio."

I hesitated before grabbing it nervously. While I was always telling myself that I didn't care what would come from this, I was terrified of them hating the stuff I painted. It might have something to do with the fact that mom and dad would always encourage me to continue and tell me that I could get far with my art… But it was a parent's job to say stuff like that, right? No matter if the paintings looked like crap or if they were amazing.

_Hello Andrea,_

_You said that this was the work of one of your students? I mean, you said that her work was amazing but this is something else. I showed several of the paintings to the Art director of one of the museums here in New York and they were interested in displaying a few of them._

_There is a show in a few months where lots of Art enthusiasts from all over the world look at artworks they would like to buy. I think your student has a good chance of earning quite a bit of money. I'd like you to tell her to send us some of her original canvas paintings within the next two weeks._

_I can only say that I'm amazed and can't wait to meet this young lady._

_Richard_

I gaped down at the email in shock. They wanted me to… And make money? From my hobby? He liked my paintings "I…"

"You seem shocked," Ms. Nelson remarked.

I shrugged "I never thought that they would actually be interested. I mean, there have to be so many people who can do better than that."

"Be that as it may, you still have your own unique style. Your paintings have an underlying message that speaks to everyone who cares enough to understand them," she told me with an encouraging smile.

"I – I should go and… and get the canvases ready. Thank you so much for this," I whispered before I remembered something "What about New York? How will I get there?"

Ms. Nelson looked down at the print "Well, I thought that I could take you. It gives me a chance to see Rick again and you have adult supervision. The show is on a weekend, so that wouldn't be a problem."

I nodded "I'll talk to Aunt Jenna and get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you again… I still can't believe it." It was so overwhelming but a happy sort of overwhelming. I couldn't wait to tell Jenna and Jay about this. What would they say? I think mom and dad would be happy for me. Now I only had to worry about the part whether I would actually sell something.

Deciding against buying breakfast, I went back home after a small jog. When I entered, I heard Jeremy in the kitchen "Jay," I bounced "Guess what."

"They liked your paintings?" he exclaimed.

I nodded with a huge grin "If Jenna allows it, I'm going to New York soon and meet several Art collectors and everything. I might even sell some of my paintings."

My brother rushed forward and pulled me into a tight hug "See, now you just have to believe us about your work. All of us told you that what you paint looks professional."

I kissed his cheek "Thanks, brother. I'm going to go upstairs and get the canvases together… Maybe start another. How about I cook later? Aunt Jenna will most likely be back by then."

"Sure," he agreed "I like your food."

I didn't get to cook because Vicki came over to see Jeremy, acting very weird. She was extremely sensitive to the sun and generally behaved as if she had taken drugs. Matt arrived at the same time as I came down the stairs.

"Hey, Vic," the blond boy murmured "How are you doing?"

"Not good, Mattie," she sniffed "I hurt."

Matt sighed "Okay, where does it hurt?"

The next thing she said made me inhale sharply. No way… "My gums. My jaw hurts. My gum… there's something in my gums and it hurts."

"Vicki," I called to get her attention "Look at me for a moment, would you?" I stepped closer to her. My hand came up to gently cup her chin "This is bad… Do you know what happened?"

Matt and Jeremy looked at me weirdly "What happened to her? What do you know, Angel?"

"Jay, think about the stories Uncle John told us," I pointed out "Matt, I'm sorry but you should go. It's safer if you aren't here right now. Jeremy will go with you and explain, okay?"

Vicki wasn't even listening anymore. She was shaking her head, looking incredibly close to tears "Turn it off."

I immediately grabbed the remote to the TV that was on but turned down so low that I could barely hear it "Better? Vicki… Talk to me." While the two boys left, I guided the newborn vampire up the stairs into my room. I shut all the blinds, darkening the room as much as I was able to "Do you know what's going on?"

"No," she sobbed, curling up into a ball.

I knelt down in front of her "You're in transition, Vicki. You remember the man who attacked you in the woods at the party?"

"Vampire," Matt's older sister whispered "You mean he made me into one?"

"Not quite yet," I disagreed "It's your choice whether you want to complete the transition now. If you don't drink human blood within twenty-four hours of waking up, you're going to die."

"Mattie?" Vickie asked tearfully "I… I don't want to be a monster."

I closed my eyes, holding back the tears "Do you think you can hold back when I bring your brother up here? Maybe you should talk to him and then decide?"

Vickie looked up at me "I don't want to hurt him."

"If you really want to see your brother, I can protect him. You won't be able to hurt him," I assured her.

"Please."

I squeezed her shoulder and put a spell on the room, so she wouldn't be able to leave. When I was sure that she would stay in here, I closed the door behind me and ran down to where the two boys were talking "Have you told him, Jay?"

"Is she really a vampire?" Matt questioned disbelievingly.

I shook my head "Not yet. Vickie is in transition and she doesn't want to be a vampire. Listen, I'm going to go with you up to my room where you're going to talk to her. Accept her decisions. Whatever it is she'll decide, okay?"

"What do you mean?" my classmate asked, looking at me pleadingly "She's not going to die, is she?"

I took a deep breath "If she doesn't drink human blood soon, she'll die. I know that she's the only one you have left, Matt but… Anyway, come on. I don't know how long it's been for her." The younger Donovan followed me up to my room, where his sister was still curled up. I wish that I could do something for them but I couldn't. It was completely up to them now "Do you mind if I stay in here? She asked me to make sure that she can't hurt you," I murmured.

"Yeah, yeah," Matt nodded absentmindedly "Vick?"

Vicki turned her head towards her brother's voice "Mattie? I'm scared."

"I – I know," he answered "I am too. You don't want to feed, do you?"

"I'm so sorry, Mattie. I don't want to leave you like mom did but I can't live like that," she sniffled "Promise me something?"

His voice sounded suspiciously wobbly "Anything."

"Remember me like I was before?" Vickie pleaded "I should have taken care of you better… I let you down."

Matt walked closer to her and pulled his sister into a hug "I love you, Vick. You could never be like mom. Never."

I could see the older girl getting weaker by the second. Dammit, Damon. I know that you were proving a point to your brother but you shouldn't have done that. While I wasn't too close to Matt, he had been my sister's boyfriend, so I was around him for quite some time. He was an amazing boy. Caring, forgiving and smart. One day, he'll get the life he deserves, just like I did… Until then, I'm definitely going to help him as best as I could "I'll make sure, he's okay for you, Vickie. I promise." I turned to the boy "Are you sure you want to be here for this?"

Matt bit his lip and I could see how hard it was for him but he nodded "I have to."

I sighed and knelt down next to him, hugging him gently. The hug was a bit awkward but I was putting as much comfort into it as possible. It didn't take long for Vickie to still completely and once she did, Matt just broke down. I pulled him closer to me, shielding him from the view of his older sister's dead body "Come on, Matt. You don't want to stay in here." I coaxed the older boy down the stairs and into the living room "Jay, can you stay with him? I'm going to call Liz."

"Yes, Angel," Jeremy murmured, close to tears as well. He sat down on the couch next to his friend and pulled him closer. Blue joined them, comforting the two boys simply by being there while Hero attached himself to my heels. I was close to crying as well but I had to be strong for Matt, for Vickie. I failed them… The least I could do was to take care of it now.

I dialed Liz Forbes' phone number and waited until she picked up " _Hello?_ "

"Liz, it's Angel Gilbert. I have a bit of a problem," I told her quietly.

" _Angel? What's wrong?_ " she asked worriedly  _"Actually, I'm a bit busy right now. Can I call you back?"_

I shook my head, knowing that she couldn't see it "It's important. You know that there are vampires in town, right?" There was a gasp at the other end of the line but I stopped her from saying anything "One of them killed Vickie Donovan. She… she refused to transition and died a few minutes ago. I don't know what to do know."

" _Where are you now, sweetie?"_  the Sheriff's voice asked me softly, soothingly.

"At home with Jeremy and Matt. They both know as well," I murmured "Liz, please. I really need your help."

I could hear her walking and the sound of a car door closing " _I'll be there in ten minutes and take care of the body. Just… hold in there, alright?"_

"Okay," I whispered, handing up the phone. After several seconds of staring at the wall, I made my way back towards the two boys and curled up next to them "She'll be here soon. Matt, I –"

"Don't," he cut me off weakly "It's not your fault, Angel. And you're right… It was Vickie's choice and I can't even say that I blame her. What do you think will happen now? I'm alone."

I exchanged a look with Jay, leaning my head against the blond boy's shoulder "I'm not sure. I guess, we'll have to wait for Liz to come but Jay and I will be there for you. Always," I vowed "Plus, Jeremy makes an excellent therapist."

Matt laughed tearfully "I can imagine. Thank you, guys." Our chatter faded into silence as we were all sitting, huddled together closely.

By the time the doorbell rang the three of us were twisted together. However we actually did that, I had no idea but standing up didn't sound very appealing at the moment.

"Hero, door," I commanded and the German Shepherd mix darted off.

"Angel?" Liz called out from the direction of the front door.

I craned my neck "In here," I shouted back.

"How are you three doing?" she asked, sitting down on the coffee table.

Jeremy grimaced "How do you expect we're doing?"

"Vickie is upstairs in my room. Middle door… the dark room," I told her, locking away my emotions for the moment. I would deal with them once I was alone and Matt was feeling better. This wasn't about me now and I didn't plan on making a scene or anything. To think that just a few hours ago, I was happily thinking about New York and now…

Liz nodded "Thank you. I will take care of it and then we need to talk about your situation. Especially yours, Matt."


	12. 1x07 Haunted

After Sheriff Forbes left with Vicki's body, I herded the two boys upstairs and into Jeremy's room "You'll stay with us tonight, Matt. I don't think it's a good idea to leave you on your own…"

The blond boy nodded and sank down on the edge of the bed "Who did that to Vick?"

I bit my lip "I'm pretty sure I know exactly who it was. I'll deal with it tomorrow."

"You're so different," Matt marvelled.

"I know," I smiled weakly "I can't help it though… Only Jay, Aunt Jenna and Uncle John know this side of me. Well and now you do too."

He pulled me into a hug "I like it. Thank you again. I don't think I would have known what to do otherwise."

"No problem, Matt," I replied "Do you know what you'll do now that Vicki is gone?"

Matt shook his head "No. I don't even know how I'm supposed to pay the bills."

"Maybe you could stay with us," Jeremy spoke up "We'll have to talk to Aunt Jenna but I don't think she'll care. You're mature enough to not get into trouble. Right, Tiny?"

"Don't call me that," I grumbled "He's more mature than you any day."

Jeremy laughed a bit and ruffled my hair "You think you're better? That's cute."

"Are you two always like that?" Matt smiled, shaking his head. Success. At least we could distract him for a little while…

I nodded "Probably, yeah." I glanced at the clock on Jay's wall with a small frown "We should probably try to sleep. School is in a few hours. Although we might be able to get out for a few days because of what happened… Liz said she would come by in the morning to talk to Jenna."

"Angel," Matt spoke up hesitatingly "How do you know so much about vampires?"

"There's something you have to understand about this town. Mystic Falls has a history with vampires… Most notably in the 1860s. The Founders' Council found out about them and rounded them up. Do you remember when Stefan told Tanner about the civilian casualties?" The blond boy nodded in confusion "The civilians were vampires. The Council imprisoned them in a tomb underneath the church, I believe. At least that's what it said in Jonathan Gilbert's journal."

"Wait, they are still in there?"

I nodded "Yeah, but it's been over a century. They should have desiccated by now."

Jeremy frowned "What does that even mean?"

"Desiccation is a weakness of immortals that usually occurs when their bodies slow down due to the lack of blood consumption. It's a process that takes a bit of time when done the normal way. Although there are several other methods that work just as well. Spells for one and even bleeding out the body or stopping the heart," I explained.

"Woah… You really know a lot, don't you?" Matt muttered, letting a huge yawn escape.

I pushed him to lay on one side of Jeremy's big bed, while I curled up between the two boys "I think we really should catch some sleep. Do you need something to help you sleep, Matt? I think we still have some of mom's old sleeping pills."

"No," the blond shook his head, pulling me closer in a brotherly manner "Do you mind?"

"I don't," I told him quietly "Jay regularly missuses me as a teddy bear."

Jeremy poked my back "Hey, it's the other way around."

"No it's not," I argued "Now shut up. I'm tired."

My brother grumbled a bit but quieted down and soon all three of us dropped into an uneasy sleep.

I woke up to quiet voices a few hours later. Without opening my eyes, I spread out my magic, analysing the room's occupants. Two of them were, of course, Matt and Jeremy who were both sleeping. At the doorway there were two more signatures that I recognized as Aunt Jenna and… was that Liz? I hadn't been around her too often so I was unfamiliar with her signature.

"Should we let them sleep?" Aunt Jenna whispered.

Liz sighed softly "Yes. They look like they need all the rest they could get. I'll talk to the principal and get him to excuse the three of them for the rest of this and next week. No one should have gone through what they did."

"Vicki really died? I can't believe it," Jenna murmured in shock.

"Aunt Jenna?" I spoke up quietly, carefully scooting to the bottom of the bed "What are you doing here?"

She held out her arms and I almost jumped into them "You're okay, Angel?"

I nodded lightly "Jenna? Can Matt stay with us? He has no one now and I don't think he'll be able to pay the rent and whatever else he needs on his own."

Aunt Jenna and Liz shared a look "How about we'll talk about it later? You should get some more sleep, sweetie."

"Okay," I yawned and shuffled over to lay down in the middle of the bed again. I quickly dropped back into a light but restful sleep.

It was early afternoon when all three of us were up and more or less rested. Aunt Jenna had thrown us out of the house, stating that we should get out some and go to the Grill. To forget about what happened for a few hours, have fun. Just speaks of the fact that she didn't really know how to deal with us at the moment. It wasn't necessarily bad… At least it gave me the chance to talk to Damon without having to sneak out.

As soon as we arrived at the Grill, I remembered that today was the day of the Halloween party. Needless to say, I knew where I wouldn't be going tonight. At the bar both Mayor Lockwood and his wife were sitting, looking to be in some sort of argument.

"Mayor Lockwood," I greeted "Mrs. Lockwood."

Both of them looked up in surprise "Angel, Jeremy, Matt. Liz told us about what happened last night. The Council was informed of your involvement," Mayor Lockwood whispered.

Matt closed his eyes in quiet pain "Can we not talk about it?"

"Of course," Mrs. Lockwood nodded, smiling gently "I'm guessing you won't be going to the party later?"

We shook our heads "Aunt Jenna threw us out of the house for a while."

"Let me guess," Damon's voice sounded from behind me "Daisy Buchanan. I love a good "Gatsby" look."

"I've met you before," Mrs. Lockwood murmured in surprise "Aren't you Caroline Forbes' boyfriend?"

Damon grimaced lightly "Ah, she had a schoolgirl crush on me but… it was cute but I had to let her down easy."

"It's Damon, right?"

"Ah, you remember?" the vampire blinked.

Mrs. Lockwood nodded "Well, you have a face that's hard to forget. What's your last name Damon?"

"Salvatore."

"Any relation to Zach?" the mayor questioned, looking up from his drink.

Damon nodded "Zach's my uncle. How do you know him?" He tried to compel her without anyone noticing but to me it seemed very obvious.

"Vervain," I breathed so only he could hear. Damon looked at me with a questioning look, so I mouthed 'Later' at him and turned around to the two boys who accompanied me here "Let's find a seat. It was nice to see you, sir, ma'am."

It took a while for Damon to get rid of the two Lockwoods and by then we already had the food we ordered.

"So?" the vampire raised an eyebrow, dropping onto the bench next to Jeremy.

I glared at him "You're an asshole, do you know that?"

"What are you talking about?" Damon frowned in confusion.

I placed my arm on Matt's under the table "Vicki came to us last night. Do you want to know what happened?"

The vampire stiffened "Where is she now?"

"Dead," Matt stated in an emotionless voice "She didn't want to become a vampire and now my sister is dead."

"I'm sorry," Damon sighed, running a hand through his hair "I may have taken things a bit too far but Stefan…"

I threw one of my fries at him "No one cares, Damon. I get it, you have your issues but so do we. That doesn't mean that we kill people. And I usually wouldn't say anything because it's in your nature but if you want to stay here, you'll have to be more careful."

"Because of the Council?" he asked.

"Yes," I nodded "They are active and trust me when I say that they aren't too stupid either. Maybe you should try to weasel your way into it? At least they won't suspect you then."

Jeremy glared at me "Why are you helping him? He killed Vicki."

"Jay, listen to me," I murmured softly "We know about vampires but that doesn't mean that we are going to hurt them. At least not the good ones."

Matt hissed "And he's good?"

I rolled my eyes "If you look closer then you'll see what I see. From what I'm getting you like to pretend. Am I right?"

"How do you know that?" Damon breathed.

"You came to talk to me after Elena shouted at me," I pointed out "That isn't what evil vampires normally do, is it?"

The vampire groaned in exasperation "Don't tell anyone," he begged "I don't want them to know… Stefan always wants me to be this humanitarian. Feed off of animals like him."

I wrinkled my nose "That sounds disgusting." Matt and Jeremy nodded in agreement, looking quite grossed out as well.

"It is," the older Salvatore snorted "Anyway, I should go. Stefan and Elena are at the school, looking for Vicki and they forced me to help them. I'm thinking about just going back to the Boarding House though. It seems as if they won't need me."

I gestured toward the door "Have fun. Can you tell your brother that I don't want Elena to find out that Jay, Matt and I know? I really don't want to deal with that drama anytime soon."

"Sure," the vampire nodded, getting up "I'm really sorry about your sister, Matt. As harsh as it sounds, she was collateral."

Matt glared up at him with hurt "I don't like you but in some weird way… I get it. In the end, it was Vicki's decision whether she wanted to die or not."

"I'll see you," Damon nodded and left us alone again.


	13. 1x08 162 Candles

Matt, Jeremy and I were milling around in the living room of our home. The two boys were playing some kind of video game while I was playing with Hero and Blue. It was only four days after Vicki died and Matt was coping. I think it helped to have people who he can talk with about all of that stuff. Jay and I had decided to talk with Aunt Jenna about what happened. She had a right to know about the supernatural as well and not only because I had the feeling that Elena was going to be more trouble than she was worth. I knew how it felt to be left out of the loop and I had no intention to do that to people I loved.

The doorbell startled me out of my thoughts. I got up from the floor when it looked like neither Jay nor Matt were going to move from their place on the couch. Typical! "Damon?" I blinked, seeing the vampire on the other side of the door "What are you doing here?"

"Can I come in?" he murmured, shifting uncomfortably.

"Sure," I nodded, stepping to the side "Come in." The dark-haired man walked past me. I shut the door and directed him up the stairs and to my room. He probably didn't want to be around Matt yet, even though the boy was on his way to forgive the vampire "What's up?"

Damon sighed and ran a hand through his hair "Stefan has a friend over for his birthday… I just don't fancy being around them. It also didn't help that Elena is there as well."

I frowned "What is your deal with Elena anyway? It is almost like you expect something from her?"

"She looks like Katherine," he admitted "She was the one who turned Stefan and me into vampires. It's a long story but Katherine fed us her blood, compelling Stefan to fall in love with her. I… I think that I really loved her but she just… It was pathetic really." He sounded like he didn't even believe himself. Maybe Damon should just confront these feeling but I was no expert in love, so I wasn't sure what to tell him.

I put my hand on his shoulder gently "Is that why Stefan is with my sister? Not that I care much but you know? Rebound and all."

Damon chuckled lightly "I don't know. It's just weird, you know? Seeing a double of the woman who fucked up your life as much as Katherine did with me. And I have no idea why I'm telling you all of this… Maybe I like the fact that someone doesn't judge me for once." We fell into a comfortable silence for a bit until Damon broke it again "Did you paint those?"

"Yeah," I nodded "I have started to draw and paint when I was eight. It helped me a lot over the years."

"Who are the people in this one?" he questioned, pointing to the painting I did of a few people from my old life. Friends and family.

I took a deep breath "The two in the middle are my birth parents," I told him quietly "They were murdered when I was still a baby. This one." A man with shaggy black hair and a cheeky grin "Is my godfather. The one next to him is his and my dad's best friend. The others in this picture were a few of my friends. The blonde is Luna, the twins are Fred and George and then there's Neville. He's my god-brother. I haven't seen them since I got here… Hell, I don't even know if they're still alive or not."

Damon blinked down at me "Why wouldn't they be?"

"There was this one occult group or something that randomly killed people who were going against them. It's complicated," I evaded.

"Fair enough," the vampire shrugged "What were you doing before I barged in?"

"Thinking about how to tell my aunt about all of this supernatural bullshit," I admitted "She deserves to know and maybe it would help as well. I mean, she has no idea about not inviting people in and stuff like that. I'm kind of scared that something will happen to her…"

Damon hummed in agreement "Your sister won't like it though."

I snorted lightly "I don't care about what Elena wants. She brought this shit into our lives – no offense – but that doesn't mean that she can keep it to herself. Elena can't protect us from everything that goes bump in the night," I murmured "It would be so much easier if everyone in this house was aware."

"Good point," he complimented "About your tip with the Council… I think I'm close. You already know that I talked to the mayor's wife and I gave the Sheriff some of Zach's vervain."

"You work fast," I noted "If you stop the 'animal attacks' then maybe you can convince them that the vampire who did all of that left town or something."

Damon nodded pensively "Or I could kill Stefan's friend and deliver her to the Council."

"Don't," I advised "You can look for another vampire or something but I don't think that Stefan will ever leave you alone if you kill his friend."

The vampire stared at me for a few seconds "How are you doing that?"

I tilted my head curiously "Do what?"

"Making me care?" he shouted "I haven't cared what people think about me in over a century. Why now? Why you?"

"Maybe you just needed someone to tell you the truth once in a while without constantly belittling you?" I suggested "To be honest, I would still talk to you if you continue to act like you did before. But only until you harm one of my family."

The door to my room opened, revealing Jay "Are you okay, Angel?"

"I'm fine," I waved them off "Damon and I were just talking about some things. Did you need something?"

My younger brother nodded "Aunt Jenna is home. I wanted to let you know in case you wanted to talk to her now?"

"That's not a bad idea," I mumbled and got up from the bed I had sat down on a while ago. Before I was out of the room completely, I turned back towards the vampire "I hope that our talk was of some use for you, Damon. We'll see you again sometime."

As soon as the vampire was gone, Jay shrugged "I like him more than the other one… Less moral."

I rolled my eyes at his words and hit the back of his head in passing "Go on, then. I'll tell Jenna about the basics and then we can talk about what happened with Vicki."

"Whatever you think is best, Angel," Jeremy smiled "Are you going to tell her about… you know?"

I had been thinking about that for a while. Talking to Jeremy about magic and my adventures at Hogwarts helped me so much… Not only that but she was family and I trusted her and even Uncle John with my life. My trust in them meant that I was ready to tell them, right? "Yeah… I… Yeah."

"It will be fine, sissy," he murmured, pulling me into a gentle embrace "Do you want me to be there as well?"

"I'm not sure… I don't want to leave Matt out but I'm not ready to tell too many people. Maybe you should stay with him," I pointed out quietly "I'll be fine, I think."

My brother kissed my temple gently and let go of me "You know where I am."

"Thanks, Jay."

While he left to go back downstairs, I walked over to Aunt Jenna's room and knocked lightly "Come in Angel," she called through the door.

I smiled at her nervously, closing the door behind me "How do you always know that it's me?"

"It's easy," she teased with a grin "Jeremy never knocks, he calls through the door instead and Elena isn't here right now." Jenna stopped when she noticed my expression "Are you alright?"

I swallowed thickly "There's something I have to tell you, Aunt Jenna. Maybe we should sit down for that?"

"What's going on, Angel?" We sat down on her bed "You're scaring me here."

"I'm sorry," I murmured "I… It's not the easiest of topics, so please listen until I'm done?" The older woman stared at me silently and nodded her agreement "You know how the Gilbert's are a founding family… What you don't know is what happened back when the town was founded. They had a bit of a problem with… vampires…"

Jenna started laughing "You're kidding, right? Angel, vampires don't exist."

"Yes, they do," I argued quietly "I'm only telling you because I know that Elena won't. I can give you some of Jonathan Gilbert's journals. They detail what happened back in 1864 if you still don't believe me."

"You're actually serious," she gasped "Why now? What happened that you need to tell me about that now?"

I looked into her eyes "Because there are vampires in town again and I didn't want you to be unprotected."

"Who are they?" Jenna questioned curiously, looking for all intents and purposes calm.

"The Salvatore brothers," I replied sheepishly. She was well aware of Elena's new boyfriend and I think she met Damon at the Founder's Day party or so I heard.

My aunt's eyes popped open in surprise "You mean Elena's boyfriend Stefan? Does she know?"

I nodded lightly "You're taking this well… Unusually well."

"Oh, I'm still processing," she muttered "And I have the feeling that it wasn't everything yet."

"It wasn't," I mumbled uncomfortably "I recently started talking to Jay about… about my past. It got easier after a while and I – I'm ready now… I'm just not sure if you'll believe me."

She scooted closer to me and wrapped her arms around my shoulders "Why wouldn't I, honey?"

"Because I wouldn't have believed myself if I didn't remember," I told her sadly "Anyway, enough beating around the bush. You know how I always was attached to the Harry Potter books?" My aunt nodded with a small confused frown "My real name is… Angel Potter. I – I was in the graveyard with Voldemort when there was this white light. The next thing I know, I'm in dad's practice with all these strangers around me… Aunt Jenna… I'm a witch." I was waiting for a reaction from the woman next to me nervously. Would she accept it? Or even believe me? I had to admit, it wasn't the sanest story but I couldn't help that it happened that way.

My heart was beating out of my chest by the time she pulled back from me "Vampires, I can get my head around with but a witch from another world? Harry Potter? Angel, you have to admit that that's crazy, right? Maybe we should get you back into therapy…"

The world around me turned fuzzy and all I could hear were echoes of Aunt Jenna's words "I – I should go…" I breathed, practically running out of her bedroom. Instead of going to the sanctuary of my room, I headed down the stairs all the while suppressing the tears that wanted to escape. My aunt thought that I was lying? The rational part of my brain told me that it was a normal reaction but I was still hurt by her words.

"Are you alright, Angel?" Jeremy questioned when I entered.

I kept my eyes on the ground "Yeah," I told him weakly "I'm just going for a walk…" I grabbed both Blue's and Hero's leashes and clipped them onto the dogs' collars. As soon as I was out of the house, I ran into the forest. Whenever I was sad or just needed to be by myself, I headed for the forest or when I craved a larger walk – the Falls. I think the habit started shortly after I got Blue but I haven't needed to go there since my parents' funeral…

An hour of walking around later, I dropped the leashes I was holding, climbing up into 'my' tree. The two canines, laid down at the bottom, keeping a watch. Blue had started this habit and it seems like Hero takes to it as well. As soon as I was high enough, I leaned back against the trunk, just staring up at the sky thoughtfully. There were so many scenarios running through my head from Jenna deciding that she couldn't take care of me any longer to getting locked into an asylum. In the back of my head, I knew that she needed time and more explanations but I couldn't help it. A part of me – the part that was still the abused little girl – was at the forefront of my mind right now.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed until my eyes got heavy and I slowly drifted off, still sitting on a branch of my favourite tree.


	14. Aftermath

_*Third Person PoV*_

Jenna was sitting on her bed in shock. Her niece had dropped a huge bombshell and she had reacted on instinct. It was only after Angel left the room that she realized how it must have sounded to the girl. The red-haired woman got up from her bed and went to look for the young girl. It was easy to forget that Angel had a bad past sometimes. Ever since Miranda and Grayson died, she hid her thoughts most of the time. She became this happy, somewhat confident girl that only came out in the presence of the people she trusted a lot… Angel had trusted her aunt and Jenna was scared that she completely messed it up now.

"Where's Angel?" Jenna questioned, seeing the two boys sitting on the living room couch.

Jeremy looked up, worry shining in his face "She went for a walk with Blue and Hero."

"I think I messed up," the older woman sighed, ruffling her hair nervously "Was she telling the truth, Jeremy? About herself? Where she came from?"

"She was," the younger boy nodded "What happened Aunt Jenna?"

Jenna took a deep breath "I might have told her that she was crazy and maybe she should consider therapy again…"

"Shit. Don't worry about it, Jenna. Angel was really worried about how you'd react. She probably only freaked out. How about the three of us sit down and talk about it quietly?" Jeremy proposed, really getting into the role of the man of the house "Sorry, Matt but this is a bit of a delicate topic for Angel still."

The blond boy waved it off "I don't mind. There's a lot I still don't know about your sister and the least I can do is to trust you after you helped me."

"Thank you," Jeremy sighed in relief "I was afraid that you'd be mad about being left out."

"Listen, man," Matt shook his head "I'm extremely grateful for what Angel did for me and I won't throw it in her face by demanding things that are hers to tell. Since it doesn't really concern me and everything…"

Jenna watched the two boys with a proud smile "I think I made the right decision in allowing you to stay here, Matt. You are both pretty amazing when it comes to Angel. Not saying that she can't handle herself but we were always a bit concerned when she didn't make friends." It had been a struggle for the little girl that came to live with them. She had gotten better, even though the circumstances weren't the best. Angel was a strong girl, one of the strongest that Jenna ever met. She doubted many could survive what she went through and lived. And if she was really who she said she was then it was all the more amazing. The Harry Potter books – while great entertainment – would have been hard to live through. Harry was thrown from one dangerous situation into another and there were so many people that died. Angel said something about the graveyard… Hadn't Harry been tortured by Voldemort at the end of the fourth book? Jenna decided that she would sit down with her niece and nephew and listen to what they both had to say until she judged.

Two hours later, there was still no sign of Angel returning and they were getting more and more worried. What if something happened to her? She did say that there were vampires in town… What if she was dead already? Was she hurt? Angel liked to walk in the forest. What if something happened to her there? There were so many 'what ifs' running through their minds at the moment that they almost didn't hear the sound of the doorbell.

Jenna shot off to answer the door. When she saw who was on the other side though, she let out a huge gasp. Damon Salvatore was holding her niece in his arms, the two dogs at his feet "What happened? Is she hurt? Where was she?"

"Calm down," Damon soothed with a small smile towards the worried guardian "I found her sleeping in a tree actually. She's completely fine."

"Oh, thank God," Jenna sighed and stepped to the side "Bring her into the living room, please?"

The vampire nodded and stepped into the house, careful of the precious cargo in his arms. When he found the girl on one of the higher branches of a tree, he was surprised. Why would she be up there in the first place? It seemed like an odd place to be but the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. Damon himself felt comfortable surrounded by trees. The forest was as close to pure nature as you could come in this age. He laid the sleeping girl onto the couch and stepped back. It was weird how important Angel was to him already. She never judged him, even after she found out that he had killed before. There was something about her that drew him in.

"Thank you, Damon," Jenna smiled nervously, staring at him closely.

He smirked in amusement "I see she told you," he remarked "Don't worry. I won't hurt you. Any of you."

Matt grinned sarcastically "After Vicki, you mean."

Damon sighed "I already apologized for that, Matt. I get that you won't just forgive and forget but I'm trying here."

They were interrupted when Angel shifted a bit and shot up a second later "Wha…?"

"Angel," Jeremy called gently to get her attention "Are you okay?"

She nodded in confusion "Didn't I fall asleep in the forest?"

"You did," the younger brother nodded disapprovingly "We were worried when you didn't come back."

"Sorry, Jay," Angel sighed, her eyes trailing over the room until they stopped on Jenna "I'm sorry, Aunt Jenna. I didn't mean to run off like that. I should have probably tried to explain better."

The older woman smiled reassuringly "We both reacted the wrong way. I was shocked, Angel but Jeremy proposed that the three of us talk about it quietly. Is that okay?"

Angel nodded and tugged a strand of her bright red hair behind her ear "Yeah. I'd like that."

"Great," Jeremy clapped "Then we'll go upstairs to Angel's room. Thank you for bringing my sister back, Damon. You can either stay here or leave. Matt…"

"I'll keep him company," the blond finished the sentence "Just go on already."

The younger of the two humans raised his hands with a small laugh "Alright, alright. Pushy." He held out his hand for his older sister to take and pulled her off of the sofa and up the stairs with Jenna following.

As soon as the door closed behind the three of them, Angel had already silenced the room, mindful of the vampire downstairs. She wandered over to where the books were stashed on her bookshelf. Her hand stopped over one of them – the Goblet of Fire specifically – and she pulled in out, heading back to the bed quietly "I was fourteen when this happened," she started shyly, peaking up at her aunt "The Triwizard Tournament was one of the stupidest and most pointless things that were ever invented. I really don't understand why they ever decided hosting one of these was a good idea. Anyway, I was chosen as the fourth champion along with Cedric, Fleur and Victor. Most of the school shunned me back then because 'I put my name into the Goblet'. The tasks weren't easy but the worst thing was what happened at the end of the maze. Cedric and I touched the Triwizard Cup at the same time. Long story short, Cedric was killed, Voldemort came back and I was tortured quite badly. The last thing I remember before waking up here was this white light… I didn't get that I was in a different world until I read the first book a day or two after Miranda and Grayson took me in."

"So the things from the book happened the way it's written?" Jenna asked curiously "And what do you mean you were fourteen? When you came here you were eight."

Angel shook her head "It happened differently but the major things were the same… I have no idea what happened with my age. Hell, I don't know what happened period. While there are witches here as well, they're different and I really don't trust them enough to ask them."

"Okay," the older woman blinked "I won't pretend that I understood that but anyway… What was different from what I know now?"

"Well, you probably guessed that I was abused, right?" Angel questioned, waiting for her aunt's nod "In the books, the Dursleys were way tamer than they were towards me. I didn't have too many friends at Hogwarts either. Ron and Hermione were only trying to get close to me for my money, so I ditched them after the dragon incident in First Year. The rest isn't too important at the moment."

Jenna grabbed her niece's hand and squeezed in comfortingly "I understand now. I'm sorry for how I reacted earlier but you have to admit that it sounded a bit crazy."

Angel snorted "A bit, yeah… Do you want to see some magic? I should have offered earlier but I panicked."

"It's normal, Tiny," Jeremy cut in with a small smile "Be careful, Aunt Jenna. When I asked Angel for a demonstration, she dyed my hair pink and refused to change it back until it was time to go to school."

The older woman giggled when Angel threw her brother an annoyed look "Maybe just something small?"

The red-haired girl smiled a bit and waved her hand in the direction of one of the paintings on the floor. It zoomed into her hand immediately "Here," she murmured "Those are my biological parents, their friends and my friends."

"Wow," Jenna gaped "You look just like your mother only your hair is a bit brighter."

She nodded in acknowledgment "I heard that a lot actually. Erm, if you don't mind… I'm a bit tired now? I promise that I'll answer any question you have but not today. It was enough excitement for one day."

"You're probably right," Jenna nodded "I'm actually tired as well. Angel? I'm glad that you trusted me enough to tell me about this."


	15. 1x09 History Repeating

It's been a week and life had gone back to normal. Well, as normal as life could get with vampires and magic. I only realized today how little I actually saw Elena ever since she started dating Stefan. The only times I was around her was at school. Not that it was bad or anything, I quite enjoyed my life without her constant bitching.

At the moment, I was walking towards the History classroom with Matt. He had become a constant in my life along with Damon recently. Ever since Vicki died, he stayed with us. Liz came over a few days ago and told us that it was official now and Matt was under Jenna's guardianship. Apparently, she told Richard Lockwood who immediately made sure that the older boy was well taken care of.

On the way to the classroom, we walked past Caroline who was trying to get Matt's attention "Hey, Matt," she smiled.

"Hey," he replied, pulling me along with him.

I looked up at the blond "I think you hurt her feelings," I murmured.

"I – It's just… I don't know. Caroline was always more like a friend than a romantic interest," he shrugged "And since when do you care about her?"

"I don't," I snorted "Well, not really at least but you were kind of rude."

Matt lowered his voice a bit more "Do you think she knows? About Vicki?"

I lifted my shoulder "I have no idea but if Elena knew then Caroline probably did as well." Once we entered the History classroom, we saw an unknown man at the teacher's desk. Oh, right. Today was the day Tanner's replacement was supposed to arrive. Hopefully, he'd be better than the asshole. Not that that would be much work.

"Ah, erm, excuse me," the teacher's voice stopped me on my way towards the back of the room. Since Tanner died, I had taken to sit in the back of the room like in all of my other classes.

I turned to face the older man with a questioning look, Hero turning with me obediently "Sir?"

"Erm, I – You're Angel Gilbert, correct?" he questioned.

"Yes," I nodded quietly. Would he turn out to be the same way as Tanner? I mean, he must have heard about me by now… Who hasn't? Sometimes it was really annoying to live in a town where most people knew each other – or at least knew each other when it came to specific families.

The new teacher whose name I still didn't know, shifted a bit, looking uncomfortable "Can you come here at lunch? There are several things I'd like to talk to you about."

I shrugged "Sure. Can I…?"

"Of course," the teacher nodded. As soon as I was at my desk, Elena came in and sat down. Bonnie, on the other hand, hurried in just in time, looking worse for wear "Good morning, everyone. Alrighty." The teacher turned around to write his name on the chalkboard. I blinked at the complicated sounding words… Who names their child Alaric? Actually… I quite like it though. It's different. Different but complicated as shit "Alaric Saltzman. It's a mouthful, I know. Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. Saltzman is of German origins. My family emigrated here in 1755 to Texas. I, however, was born and raised in Boston. Now the name Alaric belongs to a very dead great-grandfather I will never be able to thank enough." Mr. Saltzman paused to roll his eyes in exasperation while I exchanged an amused glance with Matt. Only two minutes in and the guy was already on my list of teachers that I could or do like. The jury's still out though "You'll probably want to pronounce it ' _A_ laric' bit it's 'Al _a_ ric', okay? So, you can call me Ric. I'm your new History teacher." The rest of the class and the time to lunch passed quickly and afterward I only had Art left. Today was actually the day we would look at our finished projects. I had a feeling that I did pretty well but who knew. I don't have too much experience with photography.

"Jay? What are you doing here?" I asked my brother when I ran into him in front of the classroom.

"Good question. Mr. Saltzman wanted to see me," he replied with a shrug "No idea why. You?"

I snorted "Same here. Want to bet that it has something to do with Tanner?"

"Five bucks that it doesn't."

"Deal," I grinned, shaking his hand. Sucker's bet… "After you, brother dearest."

He glared at me but walked through the door first "Hey Mr. Saltzman, I'm Jeremy Gilbert. You wanted to see me?"

Our new History teacher finished chewing and set down his sandwich "Ah, good. You're both here… You know that your old teacher had a jackass file? No joke," Mr. Saltzman grinned, holding up a file "It's typed on a label. It has all the troublemakers in it."

"Why am I not surprised?" I muttered and turned to smirk at my brother "I won the bet, by the way. This totally had something to do with Tanner. Even after his death, he can't just bugger off."

Mr. Saltzman raised an eyebrow "A bit morbid… Anyway. It has all the troublemakers in it but really it's just an opus – to you." He pointed at my younger brother.

"Ha," I exclaimed "That means, he liked me more." As soon as I said it, I frowned "Wait… That's not a good thing. Damn."

Jeremy's lips twitched but instead of answering me, he turned to the History teacher with a worried look "I'm not in trouble, am I?"

"Don't worry about it," Mr. Saltzman shook his head, throwing the file in the bin "I'm not him. Clean slate. Now… let's talk about grades. Angel's are pretty good actually but yours…"

Jay sighed, running a hand through his hair "I know. It's been a rough couple of months but Angel has been helping me a lot recently."

"Yeah, I saw that. The problem is, we're halfway through a semester and half a fail is still pretty bleak." He paused for a moment "This is the part where you ask me 'But what can I do to change that?'" Another short pause "I'm glad you asked. How do you feel about extra credit?" I snorted at the teacher's antics. By now I was pretty sure that I'd come to like History class…

"Yeah, yeah, totally," Jeremy nodded in agreement, actually sounding happy about the way this teacher was handling things "Whatever."

Mr. Saltzman smiled "Good. Write me a paper, then."

"Okay," my brother shrugged "About what?"

It was the teacher's turn to shrug "History. Pick a topic, keep it local and no Wikipedia-regurgita. These old towns have a rich history, so just get your hands dirty, make it sing and your back on track. Deal?"

"Yeah. Deal!" Jeremy smiled gratefully "That's a cool ring."

My attention turned to the teacher's hand and I barely withheld a gasp. It was a Gilbert Ring. The same one that dad was always wearing and the one that… the one that Uncle John supposedly lost. As far as I know, there were only two, so this had to be Uncle John's. How Mr. Saltzman came to possess it, I didn't know but I planned on finding out.

"Oh, thanks," the teacher shifted awkwardly "It was my father's. A little garish but family, you know?" He then returned to the topic at hand "You've got a week. Angel?"

Jeremy threw me a questioning look and I smiled comfortingly "It's fine. Go! By the way, the Gilbert journals are in my room. You know you'll be home before me."

"Art?"

I grinned "You know it. Ms. Nelson wanted to talk to me about New York as well, so I could be a while."

"I'll leave you now. Bye, Mr. Saltzman," Jeremy nodded, practically running out of the room.

I stared after him with a small grin. Some things really never change… "Thank you," I told the teacher quietly "For giving my brother a chance."

"It was no problem," he smiled "So, what I wanted to talk to you about…"

"My PTSD?" I guessed. Mr. Saltzman nodded as an answer "It doesn't usually act up anymore. Not without triggers but I do have bad days… Hero warns me before I do have an attack and he generally grounds me."

"If you don't mind me asking. You're awfully young to have something this serious?"

I snorted slightly tearfully "You don't say. Before Grayson and Miranda adopted me, I was in a bad place. My relatives… they weren't too nice." Hero pawed at my leg gently, making me pet his head with a small smile "I'm better now in any case."

Mr. Saltzman looked at me curiously "You act differently around your brother. Freer somehow?"

"Jay… He's always been there for me. In some weird way, he is more like an older brother, even though he's younger than me," I shrugged.

"Good. The other teachers told me some about you and why you have a dog with you but I wanted to talk to you as well. It only seemed fair," he told me.

I threw him a grateful look and turned to the door. According to the clock in the corner, there were only a few minutes left of lunch break "Hey, about that file… Can I read it?"

Mr. Saltzman laughed "No but rest assured that there was a lot of you playing up your 'issues'. Your last teacher was a bit of an asshole, yes?"

"You have no idea. He actually put down my aunt because she was a 'bad guardian' and told her that Jeremy was skipping class when he was with the nurse most of the time," I ranted "Anyway, thanks again. For your first day, you did well. At least in my books."

He raised an amused eyebrow "The highest of compliments, I'm sure."

"Of course," I nodded seriously "Glad that you understood that already." The bell rang and I jumped "Damn. I have to get to Art. Bye, Mr. Saltzman."

Art passed quickly and so did my last class even though I hated English so much. Part of me still wanted to spell things the way I did my whole previous life. It was weird. That's probably why my teacher was pretty generous when it came to me going all British on her papers. A few minutes before classes ended, I was told to meet Jenna and Jeremy at the Grill after my meeting with Ms. Nelson.

My Art teacher didn't hold me prisoner very long, surprisingly. She just wanted to talk about some of the details for the trip next month. If I had sent the canvases already and how she should tell the airline that Hero will accompany us. I told her what I knew and that I sent most of the paintings that Jeremy and I selected to them already. It turned out to be a whole crate full but I could take the rest back with me… We just thought that the more I take the more likely it will be that someone would buy one. Hopefully.

An hour after school ended, I walked into the Grill, seeing Jenna and Jeremy at one of the booths already. They didn't have any food yet, so I assumed that they were waiting for me "Hey," I greeted, flopping down next to my aunt.

"You escaped Ms. Nelson's grasp then?" my brother questioned in amusement.

I glared without much bite "It's not funny but it actually wasn't too bad this time. Just some more details about next month."

"I can't believe my niece is going to be a real artist, even selling her work," Jenna exclaimed dramatically, throwing her arm around my shoulder. She pulled me to her side with one quick move, making me accidentally hit Hero with my foot. It wasn't hard but the poor pup startled lightly before he settled back under the table.

We ordered our food and ate quietly, discussing our days. Aunt Jenna brightened up considerably when Jay told her about the new History teacher and how he now had to do a paper about local history. Sometime during our meal, our Aunt's gaze slid over to a booth a bit away from ours where Mr. Saltzman was sitting.

"I like a man who can dine alone. A quiet strength," she sighed dreamily.

I exchanged a look with Jeremy and waggled my eyebrows jokingly. He snorted into his drink and turned towards the older woman "I thought you were still in that whole Logan-depression thing."

Jenna smiled "I've sworn off men forever but it doesn't mean I can't observe them from a safe distance."

"Safe distance, my ass," I snickered and only quieted down when she hit the back of my head lightly "Ow?"

She grinned innocently "You deserved it."

"I can introduce you," Jeremy offered, coming back to the topic at hand.

Now it was Aunt Jenna's turn to not so subtly change the subject "Have you picked a topic for your paper?"

"No, but I got the Gilbert journals that Angel had in her room. I'll probably take something out of them," my brother shrugged "It's got to be local and non-internet research."

Jenna nodded "Well if you don't find anything in the journals there's still your dad's old stuff."

"What stuff?" I questioned with a small frown. There were things that I haven't read yet? How?

"'How the Gilberts came over on the Mayflower' stuff, all that family lineage from way back," she explained "Your dad really loved all that family history stuff. It's all boxed up in the closet."

I blinked at her "How did I not know about that? You know that I will have to take that stuff hostage now until I've read it, right?"

"Mr. Saltzman," Jeremy greeted the man who had just approached our table.

"Jeremy," the teacher nodded back "What's up, man?"

I choked on my coke when Jay winked at me "This is my aunt, Jenna." They shook hands, while I desperately tried not to laugh at Jenna's expression.

"Alaric Saltzman," Mr. Saltzman introduced himself "It's nice to meet you."

Jenna smiled "Jeremy and Angel were just telling me about the paper you're having him write. Thanks for giving him another chance."

"It was my first day," he shrugged "I wanted to make a good impression."

I coughed lightly "Hey, did you know that Tanner had a jackass file, Aunt Jenna?" I told my aunt with a wicked glint in my eyes.

"Let me guess," she sighed "You and Jeremy were featured in it?"

Jeremy raised his hand to his chest, a mock wounded look on his face "Aunt Jenna, I'm hurt that you think so low of us."

Jenna gave him a deadpanned look and a second later, Jeremy and I were laughing. In the end, she sighed in defeat and looked at Mr. Saltzman apologetically "Sorry about them… They're pests."

"Aww," I pouted "You know that you love us, Aunt Jenna."

"Why did I think it was a good idea to take care of four teenagers," she groaned pitifully.

The History teacher was still standing next to us, watching our interaction with a great deal of amusement "Four?" he questioned.

"I recently took in Matt Donovan along with my two nieces and my nephew," Jenna told him quietly. The thought of what happened to Matt sobered us up quickly.

I looked over at Jeremy and tilted my head towards the door questioningly. He looked at Aunt Jenna and then at Mr. Saltzman and nodded lightly "Thanks for buying dinner, Aunt Jenna. I still have homework to do and I really want to look through the stuff you mentioned. I'll see you later." I scooted out of the booth "Hero," I called, making the mixed breed jump to his feet quickly. I bent down to pick up the leash from the floor and nodded at the teacher, walking out of the Grill quickly.

I came home to an argument in the kitchen. Caroline was shouting at Bonnie, while Elena was standing next to them awkwardly "Why are you such a little liar, Bonnie?"

"What?" the Bennett girl blinked in surprise.

"Caroline," Elena admonished with an eye roll.

I blinked when the blonde held up a crystal. From the feel of it, there was a lot of magic in that tiny little thing. Maybe even more than that. It almost felt like… like a soul? Was that even possible? "Don't mind me," I muttered, walking over to the cupboard, trying to ignore their annoyed stares.

"I'm not lying to you, Caroline," Bonnie insisted quietly.

Elena jumped to the dark-haired girl's defense "It's true. I watched her throw it into a field."

I dug around and found several journals that looked similar to the ones I had upstairs. Without missing a beat, I swiped them into my arms and made my way up to my room, leaving the three in the kitchen, discussing something I couldn't care less about.

It didn't take long for me to get lost in the words of my dad's ancestors. How the journals survived, I didn't know but I learned so much about not only my own family but also the town's history.

An hour later, Jeremy came into my room, asking for my help in looking through the things in the cupboard. He also asked me which of the journals had any information on vampires. I handed him the ones that were written by Jonathan and followed him back down the stairs "Where are Elena and the other two?"

"I have no idea. They left when I came back," Jay replied with a shrug, digging into the cupboard "Hey, look at this," he spoke up, handing me a picture.

I blinked at the image of a young Jenna with Logan Fell "Blackmail?" I wondered out loud.

"What's with blackmail?" Jenna's voice came from the front door "So you found the boxes."

Jeremy looked up at her "I found this, too." He took the photo out of my hands, showing it to her.

"Me and Logan," she noted "That's just cruel."

I shook my head "Cruel is dating our History teacher."

Jenna smirked "I'm not dating him… yet."

"Urgh," I groaned "I so didn't need to know that."

We joked around a little more until Matt came home from visiting Tyler. It was decided that we would have a movie night with lots of junk food and an old TV show from the 80s. Dad had started a tradition with Jeremy, Elena and me. We watched the entire first season of The A-Team. While Elena hated it, Jay and I started to really love the show. That's why we decided to finish the marathon with Jenna and Matt.

After the first Episode, the doorbell rang and I got up with Jenna following behind curiously. We had no idea who would be at the door this late. Once I saw the person on the other side, I froze.

Logan Fell smiled at my aunt "Hello, Jenna."

"Logan?" she gasped in shock, stepping back a bit.

"Aren't you gonna invite me in?" he questioned subtly.

I narrowed my eyes at him and pushed Jenna towards the living room "He's a vampire, Aunt Jenna. Don't let him in here."

"That isn't very nice, little girl," Fell sneered, eyes darkening.

I rolled my eyes at him "If you're trying to scare me, it won't work. Goodbye." With that, I closed the door in his face and took a deep breath. What to do? What to do? Oh, I know… Damon.

' **Logan Fell is a vampire** ' I texted to the older Salvatore brother.

' **What?** '

I mumbled under my breath. Idiot ' **I said… He's a vampire. Just came by the house, trying to get Jenna to invite him in. Didn't work though… I might have pissed him off.** '

' **Really, Angel? Don't worry. I'll take care of it,** ' he replied not a minute later. There was so much annoyance in the question that I had to snort at him. I was a danger magnet and I doubted the Potter luck would shift in this world. So far I was more or less lucky but it could change at any given moment.


	16. 1x10 The Turning Point

The morning after I outed myself to the vampire version like Logan Fell, I had almost completely forgotten the man's reaction to it. After school today the career fair was supposed to start and I promised Aunt Jenna that I would be there as well. Lately, we usually made a bit of a game out of going to events like those.

Jeremy was downstairs already when I walked down in my running clothes "Hey Jay. What are you doing?"

"Angel?" he startled, almost dropping the sketchpad he was holding "You scared me."

I held up my hands "Sorry about that. I forgot that you get in the 'zone' when you start drawing…" I squinted at the demonic looking drawing of a vampire "Is that from Jonathan Gilbert's journal? It looks like something our ancestor drew."

"It is actually," my brother nodded, noticing my chosen outfit "Are you going out for a run?"

I nodded "Yeah. I feel like I need it if I'm going to have to survive tonight. Plus, it keeps me away from school for a bit longer… Since we don't have classes today and everything."

"Be careful," Aunt Jenna told me, coming in from the direction of the hallway.

"Always," I grinned "I'm not taking Hero with me. He'll have enough to do later on…" I exited the front door after my aunt knew where I was going. Matt, Jay and I had taken to tell Aunt Jenna where we were going, so she was always aware that we were out. She had become a bit paranoid after we told her what really happened to Vicki. It was fine though… I didn't mind at all. Not if it made her more comfortable with the whole situation.

It didn't take me long to reach the woods for my usual route. I put in my headphones and started running at a quick pace. Whenever I was running, I liked to contemplate about my life and shit. Mostly about things like the people I left behind. What happened to Sirius and Professor Lupin? I mean, in the books here they died, right? So did they survive now that I wasn't there to… to get them killed? Was it me that killed the people I was close to? It would speak for mom and dad dying… But no… That was Elena's fault. I wasn't even able to sweet talk it. If she hadn't gotten drunk and in a fight with Matt that night, nothing would have happened. I was pretty deep in the woods and sunlight was pretty much rare here. The trees were blocking most of the warmth and light off.

Suddenly I was ripped out of my thoughts by a large, covered form that tackled me to the forest ground "Well, well, well… Who do we have here?" I heard a mocking voice from the man on top of me "Not so smug now, are you?"

"Logan," I gasped, struggling against his grip. There was nothing I could do to get free and I didn't want to use my magic in front of him… He had been a part of the Council and I couldn't risk anyone finding out about me right now. Maybe in the future but not at the moment. There was also the fact that I had no idea how to kill a vampire with my magic… The fire spell was way too unpredictable and would probably fry me to a crisp along with him. I could only hope that he would leave me alone long enough for me to escape him.

My aunt's ex smirked down at me "Surprised? I think you're going to come with me, little girl."

"What do you want with me?" I couldn't quite hold back the little tremor that was in my voice. The only thing that could ease my mind a little was the fact that my blood tasted like crap to vampires. Damon told me so after I cut my finger a while ago. Oh God no… Damon. Hopefully, the slimy guy behind me didn't know about my friendship with Damon. Otherwise, I doubted that I would get out of the whole mess in one piece.

He shoved me forward, making me stumble over a log that was in my way "You will tell me what you know about Damon Salvatore." Not so much luck then… Dammit.

"I don't know anything," I tried to convince him.

Logan ripped me around to face him with a snarl "Don't play with me, bitch. Tell me what you know about them." When I kept quiet, he backhanded me harshly, throwing me into a tree close to where I was standing. I groaned, trying to clear my vision. Before I could recover completely, I felt hands pulling me up and we were moving again. Where was he taking me? After several more minutes of being tugged around like a doll, I was shoved onto a cement floor of the old Fell Warehouse. It has been empty for years now and was the perfect hideout for someone like Logan. Out of the way and no one came here anymore "Now," the newly turned vampire began, fiddling with a gun "You knew about me… Do you know that Damon and Stefan Salvatore are also vampires?"

I glared up at the man and climbed to my feet, so he wasn't looking down on me quite as much as before "Fuck off," I spat defiantly. Faster than I could register, I was lying on the floor again, a sharp pain in my abdomen. That asshole shot me. He actually shot me… With a wooden bullet.

"Wooden bullets," he marveled "They won't do too much damage to you but still hurt like hell, don't you think?" I was breathing heavily, trying and failing not to show him the pain I was in. Even though I always had a higher tolerance for pain, I hadn't gotten hurt in a while "How are they walking in the sun?"

"Bite me," I gave back through gritted teeth. Not the smartest remark to make to a vampire, I must admit. A grin stole its way across his features and within a second he was close to me, tearing into the soft flesh of my throat. Logan purposely missed anything vital but that didn't make it hurt or bleed any less. I blacked out as soon as he pulled away, cursing and spitting out whatever blood made its way into his mouth.

The next time I woke up, I was tied up with duct tape around my hands, feet and over my mouth. I let out a muffled groan, alerting the vampire that I was awake again. My whole body was on fire because of the bullet wounds and I was shivering at the same time. From what I could feel, my neck had stopped bleeding. There was a rather large pool of blood beneath me though. Larger than I would have liked it in any case.

"Shh," he shushed me quietly "There is someone outside. If you make even one sound, I'll kill your precious family right in front of you, do you understand me?" I was breathing heavily, tears falling down my face and nodded quickly. I was in way over my head… No matter whether I thought before "Good. Not one sound." The entrance of the warehouse opened and from my place in the shadows, I could see Damon entering. He looked around as he walked closer to me. Suddenly, there were several gunshots and the Salvatore fell to the ground, groaning "I have tons of these wood bullets, so nothing funky," Logan threatened, approaching the downed vampire threateningly.

"You don't want to do this, trust me," Damon hissed back, sitting up a bit.

Logan shot Damon in the shoulder "That's what you get," he mocked the older vampire.

"For what?" the Salvatore frowned, prying the bullets from his body.

My aunt's ex crouched down in front of his target "You made me like this," he accused.

"I killed you," Damon shook his head "I didn't turn you." He dug out another bullet from his chest.

"See, I know what you and your brother are," Logan mused, examining the tiny stakes "I've been watching the two of you. I knew you'd show up here and I'm glad you did because I have some questions."

"Me first," Damon cut in "Who turned you?"

That appeared to be the wrong question. In a second the Fell was in my friend's face "How should I know? The last thing I remember is, I'm about to stake your brother and then you grabbed me. That's it! Until I wake up in the ground behind a used car dealership on Highway 4. Somebody buried me."

"It happens," Damon shrugged, prying a bullet out of his leg "Ow."

"You bit me," Logan finally shouted, his patience already used up "It had to be you."

The older vampire rolled his eyes at the ignorant man "You have to have vampire blood in your system when you die. I didn't do that. Some other vampire found you, gave you their blood." Damon groaned, falling back to the floor.

I shifted a bit, getting uncomfortable in the position I was in at the moment… Dammit, I really should have started exercising my magic more once I found out that there were vampires in town. Maybe then I could have freed myself already. Ever since the graveyard thing, I really hated being vulnerable but learning magic wasn't as simple as it sounded when you're the only one with that kind of magic around. The books about my – Harry's life weren't much use either… It was more of a 'making it up as you go along' situation. Clearly, I hadn't made up enough…

"Dude," Logan snapped "It's not like the welcome wagon was waiting with a Bundt cake and a handbook. It's been a learn as you go process. You know, one minute, I'm a small town on the rise news guy and next thing I know, I can't get into my house because my foot won't go through the door."

Damon sat up, an amused glint in his blue eyes "You have to be invited in."

"I know. I live alone." Was the exasperated answer he got.

"Ah," the older vampire chuckled "That sucks."

Logan ignored the comment "So now, I am at the Ramada, watching pay per view all day, eating everything in sight, including housekeeping."

"It could be worse," Damon sighed, already annoyed at the man's rambling.

"All I can think about is blood and killing people. I can't stop killing people. I keep killing." He paused to laugh maniacally "And I like it. I'm conflicted." Logan suddenly stalked in my direction, pulling me up by my hair, dragging me over to where Damon was lying "Then there's that one. Her blood is disgusting and she's too stubborn for her own good. You know, little Angel here didn't tell me anything about you, no matter how much I hurt her."

"Angel," Damon gasped, his eyes catching my tear-filled ones. After making sure that I was more or less alright, he glared up at the baby vampire "Let her go. She has nothing to do with this."

"Oh, I don't think so," Logan spat "There is still something I want to know and she's the perfect motivation… How do you walk in the sun? You can walk in the sun which, by the way, is pretty cool." I saw Damon flexing his hand, hiding the daylight ring on it with his other "The council will never suspect you. That's not in the journals."

"The journals?" Damon frowned in confusion.

Logan nodded, tightening his grip on my hair "Yeah, the founding fathers, they passed down journals to their kids. Come on man, you gotta tell me." He pressed the gun to my temple "How can you walk around in the sun?"

"Who turned you?" the black-haired vampire shot back, staring into my eyes. I could see the conflict in his gaze and shook my head, a movement that was barely enough for him to notice.

"You know, I've been really nice so far but I will kill you," the Fell threatened "And her along with it."

Damon smirked "Then you'll never know. If you hurt Angel or me then you can forget about it." He fought his way to his feet "You're not answering my question."

"You first!" Logan demanded.

"It seems we're at a bit of an impasse then, doesn't it?" the older Salvatore mused.

Logan hissed in agitation "I have things to do, people to kill. Guess I'll be needing a little head start." He shot Damon a couple of times, dragging me out of the warehouse with him. Without much protest from me, I was shoved into the trunk of the car. The blood loss affected me a lot by now. I was freezing and the pain still hadn't stopped. Before I drifted into unconsciousness again, my thoughts turned to Jenna. She was probably worried sick by now…

"Angel," Damon's voice sounded from far away "Come on, little one. I need you to wake up now." I tried to peel my eyes open but they were way too heavy, so I carefully turned my head in the direction where his voice came from "There you are," he sighed, sounding relieved.

"Oh my God," another voice gasped from somewhere nearby. Was that Sheriff Forbes? "We need an ambulance here. Quickly."

I whimpered when I felt the duct tape being cut and pulled off my raw wrists. A hand carefully worked the sticky stuff away from my lips and soon I was free again "I know it hurts, Angel. I'm sorry," Damon whispered "Can you try to open your eyes for me?" I fought against the darkness that was trying to pull me back under and forced my eyes open. Everything was a bit hazy but as soon as I looked down, I saw the desiccated corpse of Logan Fell with a stake in his heart. My gaze drifted to the vampire that was leaning over me and the Sheriff who was standing next to him.

"There you are," Liz smiled but there was guilt on her face as well "Help is on the way, sweetheart. Your aunt is very worried about you… She told me that you went missing this morning."

I just stared at her silently, swallowing a few times. Even though Logan was dead now, I couldn't help but be afraid. As soon as I was up again, I would need to train… Both physically and my magic. I wouldn't let anyone hurt me or my family again if I could avoid it. There was just no other way…

In the distance, I could hear sirens coming close to our location and against my will, I passed out again.


	17. 1x12 Unpleasantville

I've been out of the hospital for not even a day now. It was weird… waking up to the beeping of the heart monitor, being told that you were in an almost coma for three days. God, I had been unconscious for three days just because of that asshole vampire. This definitely brought it home to me that I had to start working on my magic and to be able to protect myself. None of this would have happened if I hadn't been so stupid.

Aunt Jenna had barely left my side when I was still in the hospital and even Jeremy spent a lot of time with me. My brother told me about a girl he met in the library while researching for the paper Mr. Saltzman gave him. Anna, she was weird –according to Jeremy at least. He talked about her like she was the only girl in the world and I'd really be happy for him if it worked out. Jay deserved some happiness after everything that happened recently.

After I had woke up, the doctors kept me in for observation. The day I got out was the evening before the 50's dance at school. Although they made it clear that I wasn't allowed to go back to school for another week at least. I lost a lot of blood from the shot wounds and the fever that I developed from lying around for several hours didn't help either.

At the moment, I was lying in the living room, watching the Pilot of Supernatural. While I had watched it before, I really liked starting over again… The show was awesome. Aunt Jenna had made sure that I had everything I needed before she left to chaperone the dance. At least now I had a reason not to go and fight my way through a crowd.

"Spoke to the insurance company," Jenna told Elena who had just entered the room "Car's totaled. You can keep using mine for now."

"So you're coming to the dance?" my sister questioned, throwing me a distasteful look. She thought that I was playing up what happened to me. Not like she was kidnapped by a psychotic vampire and shot repeatedly with wooden bullets. After she found out that she was adopted, Elena became even more of a bitch. Apparently, I was supposed to pity her because she didn't know her real parents and mom and dad lied to her. It was ridiculous. She should be fucking glad that she grew up in a loving home.

Aunt Jenna smiled "Alaric asked me to help chaperone and Angel is alright on her own for a while."

I barely withheld the snort. Admiring from afar indeed. That didn't even last a day and Aunt Jenna was already falling head over heels in love with the History teacher.

"Why didn't you tell me, Jenna?" Elena spat, glaring at our aunt accusingly.

Jenna started a bit at the other girl's tone and the sudden change of topic "Your mom was going to do it eventually. I never thought I'd have to."

"If my mom were here right now and I asked, she'd tell me the truth," my sister pointed out, a smug smile on her face.

I rolled my eyes, pausing the show with the press of a button "Don't be a bitch, Elena. This can't be exactly easy for Aunt Jenna either."

"Angel," Jenna scolded lightly, turning back to my sister "Your dad was about to leave the office one night when this girl showed up. She was sixteen, a runaway, and about to give birth. He delivered her baby, and he gave her a place to stay, but a few days later, she disappeared. And there you were. Your parents were trying so hard to have a baby. I – it just wasn't happening. All Miranda ever wanted was to be a mom."

Elena squinted her eyes at the older woman "Well, why were my parents' names on the birth certificate?" God, she could get on people's nerves. I understand that she's hurt that they kept it from her, it didn't excuse treating other people – especially family – like shit. Over the last few days, Jenna had been down because Elena completely ignored her. Even Jeremy – who hadn't known about the adoption before – seemed a bit down because of the mood the other girl spread around the house.

"Your dad was a doctor," Jenna reminded "He took care of it. They didn't want to lose you, so they kept it quiet, told as few people as possible but if anyone ever wanted proof, they had documentation."

Elena sighed and dropped her shoulders "What else do you know about her? The girl?"

"Just her name. Isobel," our aunt told her. It was then that the conversation was over and Elena left to get ready upstairs. I pressed play again and turned my attention back to the TV. Just as I was about to drift off to sleep, Aunt Jenna got my attention "I'm going to go to the school now. Are you really sure that you'll be alright alone?"

I smiled tiredly "I'm alright, Aunt Jenna. I have my phone here and will call you if there's something wrong. The way it's going to turn out, is that I'll probably sleep the whole time you're gone anyway."

She chuckled, ruffling my hair while subtly checking my temperature "You're probably right. I'll be back in a few hours."

"Have fun," I nodded, closing my eyes. I drifted off to the sound of Sam and Dean trying to figure out the mystery around the Woman in White.

A scream startled me out of my dreamless sleep and I shot up, groaning when the pain hit me. My wounds had started healing but they weren't very far into the process yet.

"Elena," Stefan yelled, rushing into the living room to tackle the other vampire from my sister. I fell back onto the sofa with a small gasp of pain, concentrating solely on breathing normally and bringing the pain down to a minimum. If Damon had been around during the last few days, I would have probably asked him for his blood but he was busy.

The front door opened about half an hour after the fight was over and Damon entered, making a beeline for me "Angel, are you okay?" He gently pried my hands away from my abdomen and raised my shirt "It's bleeding again. Here." The vampire bit into his wrist, offering it without a second thought.

I smiled at him weakly, sucking some of the blood from the bite "Thanks."

"No problem, princess," he grinned, ruffling my hair. Damon then turned to his younger brother with a glare "What the fuck is wrong with you? You just ignored a girl bleeding on the couch? Have you even taken the time to make sure Angel was alright before you fawned over Elena?"

Stefan sneered back "Elena needed me more. Why are you so nice to her anyway. Haven't you heard what Elena told us about her?"

"I did," the older brother nodded "But I chose to ignore it because I know Angel." Damon ran a hand through his hair with a sigh "Come on, little one. I'll take you up to your room. You should get some more rest."

"Okay," I whispered, not looking at the other two people in the room. It hurt that Stefan believed Elena over me but there was nothing I could do about it at the moment. I was also way too done with the day to make some sort of comment. There was no way that vampire was invited in by Jay, Jenna or Matt. They knew better than that and I wasn't there… It could only have been Elena, so technically it was her own fault.

The vampire picked me up and quickly made his way up to my room "I'm sorry about Stefan. He's…"

I shook my head "Never mind. You know that it's Elena's fault she's in this situation, right? The only one who could have invited that guy in was her."

"Are you sure?" Damon blinked.

"Yeah. The only one Jay invited in was his vampire girlfriend-ish stalker," I snorted, burrowing deep into my pillow "Thank you. You know, for healing me… And for killing Logan. I appreciate it. Do you think you can teach me hand-to-hand until my uncle comes to visit again?"

The vampire brushed a strand of my hair out of my face gently "Sure. Once you're back on your feet. I have to go now. Things to do…"

"Go," I told him, not even trying to find out what he planned. It was his own business and if he wanted to tell me, he could. I was always willing to lend him an open ear and an unbiased opinion.

A while after Damon left, I fell asleep again, although this time it wasn't nearly as restful as my previous sleep was. I dreamt of that night. The one my biological parents died and halfway through the scene changed to Grayson and Miranda blaming me for their death. Maybe I could have saved them if I… I don't know but there must have been something that I could have done.

_It's your fault. Everyone dies around you and soon Jeremy and Jenna, even Matt and Damon will see who you really are. You are a killer. A monster._

I shot up again, completely covered in sweat. This time it didn't hurt as much though. Damon's blood must have done its job. My breathing had picked up and I was crying silently from the voice in my head. Why couldn't it shut up? I had been doing so well… No, I was doing so well. Why couldn't I let go of the past?

I slipped out of bed, padding down the stairs. The front door was open and Jenna was talking to Mr. Saltzman.

"Thank you," she smiled at my teacher "I needed that."

"Well, thank you," Mr. Saltzman gave back "For – for coming. I… I really appreciate it. You made the evening much more… Well, you made it, period." It was then that he noticed me on the stairs "Hello, Angel. How are you feeling?"

"Angel?" Aunt Jenna frowned, coming closer to me "What happened, sweetheart?" I shook my head, walking closer to her. Without a word, I buried my face in her shoulder, crying into her silently "I… I'm sorry to cut this short."

"No need," Mr. Saltzman waved off "Thank you again for putting up with all that wife talk. I… I gotta stop doing that. It doesn't bode well for dating."

Jenna's hand froze on my back "Is that what this was, a date?"

"No," my teacher denied "Definitely not a date. But Friday… You, me, and dinner and a movie. How about it?"

I groaned into my aunt's shoulder "Still standing here," I muttered, pulling away "It's weird that my aunt is sating my teacher…"

"There you are," Jenna grinned with a hint of worry still in her eyes "You seem to be doing better?"

"Much," I nodded "Like I told you, I slept for quite a while."

She nodded "That's good."

I looked between her and Mr. Saltzman who was still standing in the doorway awkwardly "Right… I'll leave you to talk. Sorry about that." Before I went to leave them alone, I raised an eyebrow at the teacher "I trust the journal Jeremy gave you was of interest? It was one of the… more interesting ones in any case."

"Uh… You… I," Mr. Saltzman stuttered, looking at me with wide eyes.

I smiled politely "It's was nice to see you again, Mr. Saltzman. Oh, and if you hurt my aunt I'll quite cheerfully hurt you back… Somehow. Maybe I'll get someone else to do it…" I trailed off in thoughts, walking away from the two, still thinking about the ways I could get back at him, should he ever break Jenna's heart. My Marauder heritage was messing with my ideas the longer I puzzled over it though.


	18. 1x13 Children of the Damned

The next day, I was drawing in the kitchen while I listened to music. It wasn't loud enough for me to drown out the conversation Stefan and Elena were having only a few feet away though. Apparently, they thought that I couldn't hear them, otherwise, I doubted they would be talking about this…

"Do you think Damon really believes us?" Elena questioned, combing through the boy that had most of Jonathan Gilbert's old stuff.

Stefan shrugged "I don't think Damon knows what to believe. Trust isn't something that comes naturally to him." Wow… And I thought Elena was a crappy sister but Stefan really topped the scales in that regard. Damon is his brother… He wasn't as bad as the younger Salvatore tried to make him out. Not even remotely.

"You know," Elena sighed "I really think that Damon believes that everything he's done, every move that he's made, he's done for love. It's twisted but kind of sad."

"There are other ways to get what you want," Stefan pointed out "You don't have to kill people. Damon has no regard for human life. He enjoys inflicting pain on others. For 145 years, every single time that I have let my guard down and let Damon back into my life, he's done something to make me regret it. I'm not going to make that mistake again."

I clenched the pencil in my hand tightly. How dare he? I might not know what Damon was up to but seriously? He was an alright kind of guy for a bloodsucker… The Damon I knew and the Damon Stefan described were worlds apart. From experience, I'd say that the younger brother must have done something for Damon to act that way towards him. Hell, even Voldemort didn't start out evil… The orphanage and later Dumbledore pushed him in that direction. Sure, he hurt me but that didn't mean that I was blind to the story.

My sister exhaled loudly "So what do you think will happen if the tomb gets opened and Damon gets Katherine back?"

"I think no matter what Damon promises, a lot of people will die," the vampire mused. Elena grunted, picking up a photo from the box. Stefan got up and stood behind her, examining it "That's Jonathan Gilbert."

Elena picked something from the box and frowned at it, puzzled "What's this?" The way Stefan looked, it had to be the muzzle that was used on the vampires to stop them from attacking.

"What are you guys doing?" Jeremy questioned, coming into the room.

"Hey," Elena nodded "Just going through some of the stuff, feeling sentimental. Dad had this old family journal from years ago. I thought I'd dig it up."

I had paused the music and exchanged a look with my younger brother "Jonathan Gilbert's journal?" Jay raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Elena replied suspiciously "What do you know about it?"

Jay shrugged "I just did a History report on it."

"Oh. So where is it now?" our sister asked, trying and failing to sound casual.

"Mr. Saltzman has it," I told her "He was interested in it, I think." I don't think I've seen people run out of a room this quickly before. If they were trying to keep us in the dark, they weren't doing a good job at it.

"What was that?" Jay blinked after them, coming to sit next to me.

"I think I need to talk to Damon," I sighed, rubbing a hand over my face. The first time I consciously looked down at my drawing, I startled. Why did I draw Logan? It was the perfect image of him standing over me with a gun pointed at me… I closed the sketchbook with a snap and pushed it away from me quickly. Dammit… "They were talking about some tomb he wants to open to let Katherine out or something."

' **Need you to come here. Found out something important,** ' I texted the dark-haired vampire quickly.

Not even ten minutes later, Damon was at the front door "So?" he asked, getting straight to the point.

I rolled my eyes at his impatience "Stefan and Elena were here earlier, looking through Jonathan Gilbert's stuff. They were talking about you actually."

"They talked about that in front of you?" he raised an eyebrow "No offense, but they know that you'd tell me."

I shrugged "I was listening to music but it wasn't loud enough to stop me from hearing. They were talking about if you actually think that they would help you with opening the tomb… Is that the tomb under the old Fell's church? It was mentioned in the journal."

Damon sighed, sitting down across from Jay and me "Yeah. Katherine is in there and I… well, I want to get her out."

"Then go for it," I encouraged "You aren't a bad person, no matter how much you play the bad guy. The shit that Stefan spewed about you was just that… Sure, you might have killed and what not but still."

The vampire shrugged, his eyes downcast "Stefan always likes to be the saint. It's always been that way. I'm never good enough to be his older brother. Hey, you read the journal, right?"

"Er, yeah," I nodded, blinking at the sudden change in subject "Why?"

"Was there anything about a witch's spell book? Emily Bennett?" Damon asked urgently.

I rubbed my forehead, trying to think back to what I read in there. There was something… I remembered because I wanted to ask Zach about it a while ago but it never happened "Giuseppe Salvatore," I said "That's your father, right? He took the book and there was a reference to taking the secret to his grave or something."

"Now that you mention it," Jay spoke up "I think they were fighting about who should keep it safe. The Fells wanted it, Jonathan had it and Giuseppe took it because our ancestor was afraid of being haunted."

The vampire looked at us with wide eyes "Thank you," he breathed "I – That helps a lot. Really."

Jenna walked into the kitchen, only to see the three of us talking "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Hello, Jenna," Damon smiled, greeting my aunt "I just came over to see how Angel was doing after everything."

I sighed "And I told him I was fine. I don't get why I'm not allowed to leave the house… Honestly, Aunt Jenna…"

"Just humour her," Jay whispered into my ear "It's the first time she can really mother-hen."

Damon and I snorted at that, making Aunt Jenna look at us, all confused "What?"

"Nothing," I shook my head "So, do you still want me to cook tonight?"

"Let me," the vampire cut in "It's the least I could do. You really helped me…"

Jenna looked at him and then at me "If you don't mind?"

Damon smiled "Of course not." He quickly gathered all the ingredients he'd need for pasta with tomato sauce and gave Jenna a glass of wine. As soon as he started cutting up the tomatoes, Jay went to play video games in the living room "You know, what happened with Logan wasn't your fault."

My head whipped to my aunt, who was looking into the glass sadly "But if…"

"If nothing," I cut in firmly "I was stupid and got him mad at me…"

"Angel…"

I smiled and took her hands in mine "It's fine, really. I'm fine."

We moved onto other business and for some reason, the two adults started to talk about dating and disapproving parents.

"My father never approved of anyone I dated, which only made me want them more, of course. What about you?" Damon questioned.

Aunt Jenna grumbled "There were a few guys. Logan isn't the only loser I've dated."

"And you dated literally everyone but Mason," I called over my shoulder "Which is really surprising since he's hot."

"You're too young to call someone hot," Jenna teased.

I huffed "You wish. Though Mr. Saltzman is a better choice… For the moment." I yawned, blinking a bit "You know what? I'll keep Jay company…"

"Sure," Jenna shrugged "Hey, do you know where Matt is?"

"He got a job," I told her "I think he wants to be able to rent out a flat nearby."

Jenna frowned "Why?"

"Matt… He doesn't want to get on our nerves or something. Plus, I think he's used to be independent." With that, I left them in the kitchen. When I reached the couch, I let myself fall backward, landing with my head in Jay's lap "How is your stalker girlfriend and when am I going to meet her officially?"

"She's not my…," Jay broke off with a sigh "Never mind. You won't believe me anyway."

"Exactly," I grinned.

Later on, I was lying on both Jeremy and Damon while they were playing some sort of racing game "You said you never played this thing before," Jeremy accused when the vampire was winning.

"I'm a fast learner," Damon smirked.

I snorted "More like vampire reflexes," I muttered.

Jay's phoned went off a few times but he always ignored it "Who are you dodging?" the vampire questioned in amusement.

"This girl Anna," he replied.

I rolled my eyes at him "Just invite her over. Then Damon can interrogate her about why she's here. She was in one of the journals after all."

"What?" they chorused.

"Wait, you didn't know?" I blinked "Anna is Annabelle? The daughter of Pearl… one of the vampires that are in the tomb."

"How do you know?"

I shrugged "There were drawings in Jonathan's second journal. Hold on." I jumped up from the couch, running upstairs to grab it. Within a few minutes, I was back with the two of them "Here. Look." On the page, I opened there were two drawings. One of an older Japanese woman and the other of a beautiful girl who was obviously her daughter.

"That's her," Jay nodded.

Damon looked at the photo "Call her?"

My brother grabbed his phone "What do you even want with her?"

"I have some questions," the vampire told us "I promise I only want to talk to her."

I exchanged a glance with Jeremy "You don't have to explain yourself, Damon. Just… don't hurt her for Jay's sake."

"She's on her way," Jeremy told us, holding out his hand for me to take "Stefan is coming over. I really don't feel like being around him and Elena right now."

I was lying on Jeremy's bed with Damon flicking through my sketchbook. About twenty minutes later, Jay got a text and left to get Anna from downstairs.

"What's going on?" she questioned as soon as she entered the room and saw Damon "Jeremy?"

I got up from the bed "Hey, we haven't met yet, mysterious stalker vampire chick. I'm Angel," I grinned teasingly "That idiot's sister."

She raised an eyebrow at me and shook my head "Anna but I'm guessing you already knew that."

"Course," I shrugged "But anyway. I think Damon wanted something from you."

The Salvatore looked at the girl and squinted "Wait, how long have you been in town?"

"A while," she mumbled.

"You turned Logan Fell," Damon realized, making me flinch.

Anna blinked at him and then at me "He was an idiot. I needed to get information though."

"I – Sorry, I'll leave you to it," I muttered, practically running out of the room and into mine. The fact that she turned Logan was a bit of a blow. Not that I didn't expect something like this but still. Maybe I should start to train my magic now… As soon as the door closed behind me, I sat on my bed cross-legged. My breathing got deeper when I got closer to my magical core. I found out a few years back that I could find and stretch my core. It was actually pretty beautiful… A wide meadow with purple and blue flowers all over it. There was a forest surrounding it and a crap ton of animals. It made me feel at home…


	19. 1x14 Fool Me Once

Over the next day, I tried several things with my magic. It was way easier than I would have thought it to be… Why I didn't learn before, I didn't know… When Damon came to pick me up, I had already successfully blown up a glass and fixed it. Might not be too much but at least I could blow up a vampire now if they decide to attack me. Once they were down, I could always set them on fire or find a stake or something… Hmh. Maybe I could actually try to transfigure or even conjure a stake. I'll put that down under long-term goals.

"Are you ready?" Damon questioned, leaning against the doorway of my room.

I nodded "Where are we going anyway?"

He smirked "How would you feel if I take you to meet a real-life witch?"

"What?" I stuttered, freezing in my tracks. Witch? There were witches here? Oh, right. I forgot… Didn't I talk to Damon about it just yesterday? Well, no matter. I was somewhat curious about their magic though. Would it be similar to what I can do or were they more restricted?

"Come on," Damon waved, walking out of the house and over to his car "The Bennett line has been quite powerful for ages."

"Hold on," I raised an eyebrow "Bonnie really is a witch? Well, what an unexpected surprise… That means Sheila Bennett is one as well?"

The vampire nodded, focussing on the road "Yup. They can help with opening the tomb. Anna is trying to convince Bonnie to do it right now, while I am supposed to talk to Sheila."

"And you think they will agree?" I questioned doubtfully. Hmh… Maybe there was something I could do? I didn't know too much magic but if the spell was explained in a book, I shouldn't have too much of a problem, right? Even back at Hogwarts, I always got a spell on the first few tries, not that the teachers ever noticed it. They were always so focused on Granger. I doubted I could pull off something as big as that though… It was a bit too big for me at the moment but I would help both Damon and Anna in any way I could.

"I doubt it," the vampire snorted "But I need to try anyway."

Not ten minutes later, we were both standing in front of Sheila's front door, waiting for her to open "Yes?"

"Hi there," Damon smiled politely "I was wondering if… if we could talk to you for a minute?"

Sheila narrowed her eyes and then glanced at me suspiciously "You've got some nerve knocking on a Bennett witch's door, asking her for anything."

The older Salvatore blinked "What did I do?"

"Spirits talk, Mr. Salvatore, and so does my granddaughter. You're no friend to us, now get off my porch," Sheila snarled.

I put my hand on Damon's arm, stopping him from saying anything "Damon," I warned lightly "This won't get you what you need." I turned to the old witch, eyeing her carefully "Why will you not help him? I understand that he did bad things in the past but if I'm completely honest with you then so did you. I might not know what but everyone did things they regret. Or are you simply condemning Damon because he's a vampire?"

"What would you know?" Bonnie's grandmother questioned.

"I know a lot," I told her "I know about Emily and I know what happened to her. Humans are prejudiced and apparently, so are witches but he wouldn't have come here if he planned on harming you."

Sheila turned to the vampire with a raised eyebrow and Damon nodded "I really only want to talk. Please, can you at least think about helping me open the tomb?"

"And unleash all of those vampires?" she mocked "I don't think so. Get off my porch."

I tilted my head at the old witch, reaching out with my magic. What the –? Stefan and Elena had already talked to the woman apparently. They thought they were being clever by going behind the older brother's back… again. The witches along with my sister and Damon's brother decided to open the tomb without Damon being any wiser. Elena was being herself again, wanting what she couldn't have. First, she played with Matt, now she was with Stefan and wanted Damon at the same time. I was just glad that the older vampire didn't really care for my sister too much. Sure, he wanted his brother to be happy with the Katherine look-alike but he himself wasn't too into her. I pulled the strand of magic back, slipping out of the woman's mind. Whilst it had been protected, my magic was different than the mind magic they could do, so it was relatively easy to do "Come on, Damon. There's nothing you can do here."

"But…"

"Come with me," I breathed quietly, throwing him a look. As soon as we were back in the car, I sighed in relief "Okay, you can either believe me now or you don't. Tonight's the full moon, right? Your brother and my sister have a plan. They want to open the tomb by themselves, get Katherine out and kill all of the others."

Damon frowned at me "How do you know?"

I shrugged nervously "Sheila told me," I tried "More or less."

"You're not going to tell me, are you?" he questioned sarcastically and then stopped, sighing "You're sure?"

"Yes," I nodded. I took a deep breath, deciding that I would tell Damon at least part of my secret… He had saved me from Logan after all and healed me "I – I read her mind. She was thinking about it."

The vampire took a deep breath "Okay."

I blinked "Okay?"

"Okay," he nodded "It's not the weirdest thing I've heard. Should I start calling you Edward Cullen now?"

I snorted, hitting his arm "Idiot…" With a mock scared look, I added "I don't sparkle in the sun, do I?"

"No," he laughed, pulling up to my house "Here you are, milady. I'm going to tell Anna now and…"

I cut him off "Elena will probably come to see you tonight. Go back to the Boarding House. If she doesn't come before the highest point of the moon then just head to the tomb but if I know my sister, she'll come and ramble on about one thing or another."

Damon snorted and shooed me out of the car "I guess I'll be seeing you tonight?"

"Of course. I want to see Elena's face when she finds out I knew about vampires before she did," I grinned, grabbing Hero's leash and skipping off towards the house. I still had to pack some clothes for the Art show in New York. It's going to start two days from now and lasts for an entire week… A new start in life, in my opinion. Maybe I should really make it count and I already had an idea of what I could change exactly. It was time Mystic Falls – and Elena especially – got to know the real Angel. I was so sick of being the meek little girl around everyone. Since I was doing better than a few years ago, I would show it. I didn't want to live the rest of my life like this.

A few hours later, I had packed a suitcase full of semi-formal clothes along with a carry-on bag that held most of the stuff I needed for Hero. It would always come in handy. There was also a sketchbook and some pens inside the carry-on. I never could go anywhere without something to draw. It was just not done…

I hopped into my car and drove as close to the old Fell's church ruins as I could without being noticed. There was a party on tonight, so I could get around without too many people noticing anything weird. Well, apart from the fact that I never went to parties like that but you know.

As soon as I reached the upper entrance, I peered down, seeing three familiar backs. Damon was standing in the middle of Stefan and Elena while Bonnie and Sheila were most likely further inside the room "Well, isn't this a party," I remarked, walking closer to where they were standing.

"Angel?" Elena frowned in confusion "What… What are you doing here?"

I snorted "You know if you want to keep your vampire drama a secret from your family then you probably shouldn't invite your vampire boyfriend into the house as often as you do. Plus, you talk about everything where others can overhear no trouble." I glanced over at Damon for a moment and ran a hand through my hair "That conversation you had in the kitchen yesterday? Yeah, I told Damon about that."

"You little bitch," my sister sneered "Why?"

I laughed sharply "Why wouldn't I, Elena? You have hated me since day one and there really was no reason at all. I'm sick of you telling people some stupid lies about me." My head turned towards Stefan "What did she tell you, huh? That I came out of nowhere stealing her parents' attention from her with my 'issues'? That I tried to steal her boyfriend? Whatever it was, she lied to you. I might have never said anything to you before, sister dearest but it stops now. You won't walk all over me, Jenna and Jay anymore. Better get used to me retaliating."

Stefan tilted his head "Elena?"

"She – she's lying, Stefan," my sister tried to convince the vampire "It's what she always does this."

"How about we concentrate on the problem at hand and leave the family shit for later?" Damon suggested, pulling me to the other side of the tomb, away from Elena.

Sheila and Bonnie who had stared at both me and my sister with wide eyes got back to their task "Air. Earth. Fire," Sheila listed.

"Water," Bonnie completely, pouring some bottled water onto the floor.

Elena blinked "That's it? Just water from the tap?"

The older Bennett turned her head "As opposed to what?"

"I just figured maybe it would have to be blessed or mystical or something," Elena shrugged.

I coughed lightly "You're not the sharpest tool in the box, are you?" Everyone looked at me and I smirked "Well, since I'm going to New York I figured why not change a bit. I'm not a doormat and I won't be treated like one again. Least of all by a bratty little girl."

Damon looked down at me "Huh. When did that resolution start?"

"About an hour ago. I have been the shy, traumatized girl for too long. You've seen how I act around Jenna and my brother. It's long overdue…"

Around that time, Bonnie looked up at us from the ground "We're ready." The two witches quickly started chanting the spell to open the seal of the tomb, their eyes shut and hands interlocked.

"What are they saying?" Damon whispered.

Stefan shrugged "Sounds Latin."

"I don't think it's Latin," Elena shook her head.

I stared at the witches curiously. So this is how they work their magic. Interesting. They seemed to be using some sort of connection with nature and the full moon to pull strength as opposed to having a fully-fledged magical core "It's definitely Latin," I murmured "They are speaking to the spirits to break the seal upon the tomb."

"How do you know that?" Stefan questioned.

"I can speak Latin?" I told him.

After a few more seconds of the spell recital, the torches flare up. My sister grabbed onto Stefan's arm in fright "What's happening?" I had no idea what she's even doing here if she was frightened by every small thing that was going to happen.

The door to the tomb creaked open, making the witches stop chanting. Bonnie looked up with a relieves smile "It worked."

"Of course it worked," her grandmother shot back.

Damon turned to his younger brother "We have some fires to build."

Stefan nodded, looking back at Elena "I'm going to go get the gasoline, I'll be right back." My sister gave a small nod to her vampire boyfriend who quickly ascended the stairs out of the tomb.

The older Salvatore looked from Bonnie and Sheila to me and finally to my sister "You ready?"

"What?" Elena turned to him, eyes widened.

"You think I'm gonna go in there by myself so you can seal me in?" he questioned the two witches, grabbing Elena by the arm.

Sheila stepped forward "Don't take her in. I'll bring the walls down."

"You'll bring the walls down if I don't," the vampire shot back "You think I trust you?"

"As much as I trust you," Sheila shrugged, seemingly accepting Damon's threat.

Elena, of course, had to be the smart one again "Enough. Both of you. Look, he needs leverage. He needs to know that you're not going to shut the door when he gets inside…"

I cut her off "He is standing right next to you."

"Thanks, Angel," Damon smiled, grabbing a torch from the circle with one hand and Elena with the other "May I?" He didn't wait for an answer, instead, he pulled my sister along with him into the tomb.

"Why haven't you stopped him?" Bonnie hissed at me "You're his… whatever."

I glared at her "I'm his friend. Which, by the way, doesn't mean that I control his actions whatsoever and to be honest with you. I don't want to."

Sheila looked at me closely "You're like another person…"

"Call in an early New Year's resolution. Like I told Elena, I have let people walk over me for far too long," I shrugged, leaning against the wall lightly.

Footsteps echoed from the direction of the stairs, revealing Anna.

"Hey, you're not going in there," Bonnie called out.

Anna smirked "You think you can stop me?"

The older of the two witches put her hand on her granddaughter's shoulder "Bonnie…"

Elena's friend stepped aside. Anna grabbed a flashlight from the ground and ran into the tomb "Why did you let her go in?"

"Because she isn't coming out, baby. None of them are," Sheila told her.

I snorted "You think that now. I'd prepare to break the other spell as well."

It didn't take long for Stefan to come back downstairs with the cannister "Where's Elena?"

Bonnie took a deep breath "Damon took her inside."

"What?!" the younger Salvatore brother exclaimed, rushing towards the entrance.

He was stopped by Sheila's arm "Stefan! If you go in there, you won't come out."

"What did you do?"

"Opening the door didn't remove the seal," the older woman told him "It just opened the door."

Stefan tilted his head "What's the seal?"

"Some seals keep vampires from entering. This one keeps them from coming out," the Bennett explained.

"Elena's human," Stefan pointed out in relief "She can leave. Anna and Katherine can't. Damon can't. You were never planning on breaking the spell, were you?"

Sheila sighed "I told you. I will protect my own. Elena can't get out. That's all that matters."

"Technically it's not," I pointed out "Stefan might be alright with you leaving his brother to rot in there but I'm not. Plus, it's Elena who's in there. Something will go wrong." As if she heard me, there was a loud scream that undoubtedly belonged to Elena. Without thinking Stefan rushing into the tomb.

"Stefan!" Bonnie called out, trying to chase after him "You can't just leave him in there, Grams."

"He made his choice."

Bonnie shook her head, picking up the grimoire "No. Here. Just show me what to do. I'll do it."

Sheila looked at her sadly "We are not strong enough. Even if we were able to bring the seal down, there's no guarantee that we could get it back up again."

"You said it yourself," the younger of the two said stubbornly "Many things can fuel a witch's power. Help me or I'll do it alone."

I was still leaning against the wall, watching the drama unfold with an amused look. Was this how people felt when they watched me get into trouble all the time? If so then it was no wonder that no one ever helped me… This is stupid.

"Elena," Bonnie gasped, looking up from the grimoire "Stefan…"

"He's right behind me," my sister nodded. The two witches stared at the entrance to the tomb. Elena turned to see her boyfriend standing in the doorway, walking over to him worriedly "What are you doing?"

"It's gonna be okay," her best friend soothed "We'll fix it."

My sister blinked in confusion "What is it?"

"I can't," Stefan murmured, leaning against the barrier.

"Can't? Can't what?"

"The spell is still up," the younger Bennett told her "We can't get them out yet."

My sister looked at her boyfriend with love in her eyes "You went in there not knowing if you could come back out?" Stefan looked down, not answering "Oh, my God." Huh. It was fascinating how different she was with other people. Maybe she actually loved Damon's brother. Only time will tell, I suppose.

"I heard you scream," the vampire admitted quietly.

Elena sighed, looking behind the younger of the brothers "We can't leave him in there. We promised him. Both of us."

Sheila took that moment to speak up "Even if we're able to break through the seal, we won't be able to hold it for long." While Stefan went back inside to look for Damon, the two Bennetts recited another spell. The torches flared up again.

Not a moment later, Anna exited with her mother who was still weak "I just wanted my mother back." I pressed a piece of paper with my phone number into her hand when she walked past me. When she gave me a confused half-smile, I winked and turned back to the entrance.

"Bonnie, keep going. They better hurry."

As the torches began to extinguish themselves, the two witches started looking faint. Elena runs back into the tomb, shouting for the two brothers to hurry. Both Bonnie and Sheila were still chanting the spell to keep the seal down. The younger of the two stopped for a moment, gasping for air and keeling over "Oh my God. I can't."

"Yes, you can," Sheila ordered and continued her chanting. Damon exited the tomb first, followed by Elena who turned around to embrace Stefan as soon as they were out. The door to the tomb closed and the torches died out instantly.

I put my arm on Damon's shoulder and held still as he pulled me into a desperate hug. The way it looked, Katherine hadn't been in there. I looked at Sheila and saw her swaying. No matter how much I didn't like her for almost trapping Damon, I didn't want her hurt. Once again I reached out with my magic, coaxing her body to accept it and begin to heal. She seemed fine, mostly just overdid it with the spells, I guess. A few minutes later, the older woman was looking somewhat better and was staring at me with a small frown 'You're welcome,' I mouthed at her and started rubbing Damon's back "Come on, Damon. Let's get you home."

"No, there's somewhere I need to go first," he mumbled miserably.

I pulled back to look him in the eyes "You're not going after Anna," I told him firmly "Home, now. I'll even stay if you want me to."

"Thanks," he whispered, speeding out of the ruins with me in his arms. Within a few minutes, we were at the Boarding House and in the huge parlor "Do you think she knew?"

I leaned against him carefully "Where you were? I don't know…" We sat next to each other silently and after a while, I started drifting off. I vaguely noticed Stefan coming in, sitting down on his brother's other side quietly.


	20. New York

"How could you not tell me?" Elena demanded as soon as I walked through the front door "Who else did you tell?"

"Jeremy, Jenna and Matt know," I shrugged, walking past her into the kitchen. I hadn't eaten anything since Damon dropped me off here yesterday afternoon and I was starving.

My sister stormed after me "It was my business, Angel. They are safer if they don't know."

"Are you joking?" I snorted "At least now they know not to invite people in. They can protect themselves now."

"What if they tell anyone, huh? I could lose Stefan and Damon because you went around telling everyone their secret," Elena pointed out, shoving me into the counter behind me.

Ah, so that's why she was so bothered. Of course, it's only important what happens to Princess Elena and those she deems good enough "You know what? Screw you. You're not the boss of me – or any of us really. Now excuse me. I have to check my bags… again."

"Why bags?" she questioned nosily.

I rolled my eyes. That definitely showed her interest in what any of us had to say… "If you had been around and listening then you'd know. Hell, Aunt Jenna is telling everyone and their dog."

"What?"

"Ms. Nelson wants me to go to New York with her tomorrow to present some of my paintings and drawings at an Art show," I explained "Apparently there are going to be tons of important people and buyers."

Elena snorted, a jealous glint in her eyes "As if you're good enough. Your paintings look as if a child painted them."

I shrugged "That's your opinion. Something I'm not really keen on listening to in any case. Oh… Hi, Stefan." I nodded at my sister's boyfriend who was staring at Elena with a bit of shock. Maybe he finally realized how Elena was really like? Not that she acted that way with him but Damon was a different story altogether. She wanted to change him… Make him more human or something, completely ignoring the fact that Damon wasn't human and neither was Stefan. Not anymore. They were vampires, so why should they act like something they're not? And anyway, Damon was a pretty cool guy. Caring too, no matter what others thought about him.

I walked past them up to my room to do some last minute checks. The plane leaves early tomorrow morning, so we'd be there and be ready by noon. Technically, the show starts at two o'clock but Ms. Nelson's friend wanted to meet me beforehand.

From what I could see, I had everything. ID, other important documents for Hero, formal clothes, semi-formal clothes and all of Hero's other stuff. Some of it wasn't too important since I could always buy some more but the vest was incredibly important. He was going to wear it to the airport and on the plane but I still put it on my baggage, just so I wouldn't forget. Well, I hadn't forgotten to put it on, not even with Blue but you couldn't be too careful, right?

A few hours later, I was lying on my bed, doing some of the assignments for the classes I would miss next week. The teachers had given it to me to finish. So far I had everything but my English essay – there were only two hundred words missing – and some Maths problems that looked pretty easy.

"Angel?" Jenna asked, peaking into my room "Are you packed?"

I nodded "I double-checked."

"That's great," she smiled "Are you excited?"

"Do you really have to ask? I'm scared shitless. What if no one likes my paintings?"

Aunt Jenna flopped down on the bed next to me "Hey," she called softly "You're an amazing artist and if they don't like your stuff then it's their loss, right?"

I giggled but nodded. She was right of course but it was still a huge honour to even be considered for such a thing. I didn't want to embarrass Ms. Nelson or her friend "You're right. They mean something to me and that's enough…"

Jenna nudged me "I'm always right. By the way, I heard an interesting story from Elena earlier. Did you really insult her in front of Sheila Bennett?"

I snorted "She told you that? The only thing I did was to give her a taste of her own medicine. She constantly belittled me in front of everybody… Not just the adults. I'm a bit sick of it, to be honest, so I spoke up."

"Alright then," my aunt grinned "You know, John and I were wondering when you'd start speaking up for yourself. Damon seems to be a good influence." She paused for a moment, blinking in horror "Wow. Don't tell him I said that."

I laughed at her expression "Your secret is safe with me." Then I sighed "It might be because of Damon encouraging me… But I made an early resolution. It's a part of my new life, so I wanted to change something. From now on, I won't let my sister walk all over me."

Aunt Jenna put her hand on my shoulder "If I knew it was that bad, I would have said something…"

"It really wasn't that bad," I lied "I mean, she never said anything too bad in front of any adults, so… Don't worry about it, okay? I'm fine." The last part of the statement was completely true, so I didn't feel too bad about lying to her.

Jenna looked as if she wasn't sure what to believe but in the end, she just nodded "So, why I came up here. I'm sure I won't be awake by the time you leave, so I wanted to say goodbye now. And good luck."

"It's fine," I smiled, throwing my arms around her in a hug "Bye, Aunt Jenna."

"Have fun in New York, Angel. Tell me how it's going, alright?" Then she suddenly perked up "Oh, I just remembered. Carol wanted to see some paintings…"

I raised an eyebrow in confusion "Carol Lockwood? Er, sure… I guess," I murmured "You can show her the ones in that pile." The one I gestured to were the ones that – while somewhat personal – weren't memories "You can also let her look through the blue sketchbooks. If Carol likes one of them, I can paint it for her as soon as I'm back." It seemed like Aunt Jenna really bragged about my skills. I didn't mind though… Not really. It felt kind of nice that she was proud of me.

"Okay," she nodded "Left pile and the blue sketchbooks. Thanks for humouring her though."

I waved it off "If the show goes well, Carol gets bragging rights for the town. Can't really blame her, can I?"

"Well," Jenna drawled.

I pushed her lightly "Oh, shut up."

"Alright, alright," my aunt chuckled, holding up her hands in surrender "I'll leave you to your schoolwork. Take care of yourself, okay?"

"I promise," I smiled at her "I'll text you once I'm there and try to update you when I can."

She put on her 'stern parental expression' "Make sure that you do." It held for a second longer before we both burst into laughter. Jenna ruffled my hair one last time and left my room.

Jay's goodbye went similarly. He made me promise to text him whenever someone buys one of my paintings… I might have crossed my fingers while promising that. At least for the beginning, I'd let him wait for it. I was just mean that way.

It was nine in the evening when I sent the e-mail to the last teacher and since I was actually tired, I decided to go to bed now and sleep for as long as possible. Falling asleep while my nerves were acting up was damn near impossible.

The next morning, I was up at four, getting myself and Hero ready for departure. Our flight leaves at eight o'clock from Charlottesville and Ms. Nelson would arrive soon. She told me that one of her female friends would drive us to the airport, so she didn't have to pay for her car to be parked there for a week.

'I'm outside. Didn't want to ring the doorbell.' My Art teacher texted about ten minutes later. Okay, now or never. I took one last big breath and grabbed a hold of my Service Dog's leash. While sometimes I could go without Hero, the thought of being in a city as big as New York with that many strange people almost made me panic right then. It was terrifying. Except for small trips with my parents, I never really left Mystic Falls.

"Hi," I greeted my teacher, sliding into the backseat after Hero jumped onto the bench without a problem.

"Hello, Angel," she smiled "Excited?"

I shrugged "A bit, yeah. I'm more worried about taking Hero on a plane though."

Ms. Nelson hummed "Well, I let them know that you have a Service Dog, so we should be fine. That's why we're going there early, after all, right?"

The rest of the drive was filled with quiet chatter. Ms. Nelson – "Call me Andrea or Andy" – and her friend were the source of most of it but I chimed in occasionally answering the women's questions.

Andrea was right. The check-in and pre-boarding passed without a hitch. It was only later that things started to go wrong. I was in a window seat right at the front of the plane with Andrea to my right. Next to her, there was a man who had started sneering at my dog as soon as he sat down.

"Why is there a dog on the plane? They don't belong in here with us," he complained loudly.

I shifted uncomfortably when the attention of several other passengers turned to us "He's my Service Dog, sir," I told him quietly, hoping that he'd be quiet after that.

"Well, there's obviously nothing wrong with you. The only thing I see is a little girl with a fake Service Dog. Why don't you do everyone in here a favour and leave?" By the time he was done talking, I was suppressing the tears that were threatening to spill down my cheeks, Hero's head resting on my lap. This was the first time I had a confrontation like this without either of my parents present and I was pretty overwhelmed by it all. It didn't help that I was starting to get incredibly nervous now that New York was practically within reach.

"I don't think this is any of your business," my teach cut in.

The man scoffed "It is my problem if people think they can simply taking their pets on board of a plane with a fake vest."

"Why don't you shut up?" a red-haired woman from behind me told him "You're only making a fool out of yourself."

Since the boarding was finished now, a flight attendant was coming over to us "Is everything alright here?"

"No, everything is not alright," the man complained again "This girl here thinks she can simply bring a dog in here. I demand that you throw her off this flight."

The flight attendant blinked and looked over at me. I was petting Hero's head quietly, trying to calm myself down. It wasn't my fault, I knew that but I couldn't help but feel responsible for this "I can't do that, sir."

"Oh? And why not?"

"Listen. You have two options here. Either you get off the flight if this girl's Service Dog bothers you so much or you will need to deal with the dog," the woman placated.

The man sneered "No. I demand that you throw her off."

"Why?" the woman from before challenged "The dog isn't doing anything to disturb you. Deal with it." Other passengers chimed in, most of them taking my side. Eventually, the man huffed, slumping down in his seat.

"Thank you," I whispered to the woman.

She smiled gently "No problem. Men like him annoy the hell out of me. I enjoy taking them down one way or another." The plane took off with a bit of a delay but we soon were back on schedule "I'm Sage, by the way."

"Angel," I replied, shaking her hand through the gap between my seat and Ms. Nelson's. As soon as I touched her hand, I immediately knew that she was a vampire. Huh… No matter where I went, I'll probably never get rid of them.

"It's nice to meet you," Sage nodded "May I ask why you are going to New York?"

Ms. Nelson was the one who answered her "We're going to the Art show. I'm Andrea. Angel's Art teacher."

Sage raised an eyebrow "Did you win a competition or something?"

"No," I blushed.

"A friend of mine owns the gallery the show is at. He invited her over for the duration of the Art show…"

The vampire nodded appreciatively "You must be good then."

I shrugged "Compared to others… I'm not sure but thank you." The conversation died off and I found myself slowly drifting off to sleep.

"Angel," a voice ripped me out of my dreamless state "Come on, wake up."

I blinked my eyes open and yawned "Are we there?"

"Almost," Ms. Nelson replied, smiling in excitement "I can't wait to see Robert again."

"That's good," I mumbled, still not completely awake.

At noon, we were dressed in our formal clothes and walking towards the gallery. My dress was a semi-formal white dress that went down to the middle of my thigh. From waist upwards it was a bit lace-y while the bottom part fanned out a little.

"Andy," a man's voice called over the noise of the other people around us.

"Robbie," Ms. Nelson squealed, throwing herself into the tall man's arms.

I smiled at their reunion, tightening my grip on Hero's leash a bit. The people weren't too close but it was still a bit weird to get used to such a big crowd. It just showed me how small Mystic Falls actually was compared to this.

"This must be Ms. Gilbert. I heard a lot about you," Robert said, holding his hand out for me to shake.

"Angel," I corrected softly, giving his limb a quick shake "It's nice to meet you, sir."

He shook his head "You can call me Robert. Now, about your works. They are in one of the halls over there. I already have a few people interested in buying one of them."

I frowned "How? I thought the show only opens in two hours?"

"Oh, it does," Robert nodded "But there's a group of customers who get a catalog of the artwork. Since they usually spend good money here, they are a priority."

"That… sort of makes sense," I nodded, following the man through the gallery. He showed us around but I barely paid attention. All I could see were those amazing paintings that were all over the walls.

It was a few hours later when I had retreated into one of the corners close to my artwork. Hero was sticking pretty close to me, acting as a sort of barrier between me and the crowd. Many people were looking at my paintings, discussing the possible meanings. I couldn't hold back a snicker when the assumptions got more and more unrealistic.

"Are these yours?" someone asked, leaning against the wall close to me.

I glanced up at the tall blonde man in surprise. Holy crap! He looked gorgeous… "Why do you ask a question you already know the answer to?"

The man smirked "It's called being polite actually."

"Never heard of it," I shrugged, letting my eyes trail over the mass of people again "Yes, they are mine."

"Hm," he hummed "For someone so young these are really good." It was said a bit awkwardly as if the man wasn't used to complimenting people.

I blushed lightly "Thank you. I started drawing when I was eight and soon got into painting as well…"

"Can I ask what you intended to show with 'The Spark'?"

The painting he was talking about was one of the ones with the deepest meaning for me "I – 'The Spark' is supposed to show that no matter how bad your situation is, no matter how dark your surroundings, there's always a spark of light somewhere. You just have to find it."

"You talk like you have experienced something like this before." The blond's voice turned curious.

I shrugged "It's complicated… and personal. Not something I will talk about with a stranger."

"Oh, right," he startled "I'm Nik. There, now I'm not a stranger anymore."

"Nice try," I snorted "I'm Angel. Nice to meet you, Nik."

Over the week of the Art show, Nik and I got closer. We talked a lot and he actually helped me a few times when the number of people overwhelmed me. By day three of the show, I had already sold ten of my twenty paintings. Jeremy and Jenna were a bit smug when I told them. I imagine they really had to suppress the 'I told you so' from slipping out.

"How about we walk around a bit, explore the city?" Nik offered, extending his arm to me. The most important part here was already over and my teacher had vanished somewhere with Robert…

I narrowed my eyes at him "You won't try to bite me, will you?"

"What?" he blinked, freezing in place "How?"

"I've known since you came up to me two days ago," I told him quietly, wrapping Hero's leash around my hand a few times "I don't really mind though. If you don't kill me that is."

Nik ran a hand through his hair "I don't plan to, love. You're way too fascinating for that."

"Fascinating?"

"There are so many sides to you," he explained "Whenever I think I have you figured out, you do something completely unexpected."

I smiled lightly "Let me guess… It has something to do with having a Service Dog as well."

"That's part of it," Nik admitted "I mean, you're confident if you let yourself but then there's also something else. Something from your past… You were abused, weren't you?"

"Yes," I breathed, closing my eyes tiredly "My aunt and uncle weren't the nicest people… It's a big part of this whole thing."

The vampire lead me over to a bench at the edge of Central Park "You remind me a lot of myself in that aspect… My father hunted me for years, abusing me when I was a child. My mother wasn't the best person either."

I shook my head "You don't have to tell me, you know? I'm nowhere near ready to talk about what happened when I was younger. The only person I told was my younger brother. He's kind of my confidant…"

"It doesn't matter. I really can't explain it but I find myself drawn to you," Nik explained, slumping back a bit.

"I know what you mean," I murmured. There really was something about him that drew me in. My magic was practically singing, just being near him. I never heard of anything like this happening in my old world but then again, I had never been normal, so who knew.

We spent the next several hours together as well, just talking about random things. He promised me that he would show me some of his drawings before I had to go back to Mystic Falls. Apparently, the reason why he was at the Art show was because he had invested in the gallery since it opened.

On the last day, we met up near 'The Spark' again, just like we have done ever since Nik came over to me on the first day. For some reason, we clicked instantly. It kind of reminded me of the way Damon was acting around me… I knew that they were dangerous and could kill me before I could blink but I didn't really care. The people who were always trying to change people were annoying. Vampires were vampires and if they murdered than that's their own business. It is a part of their race – sort of… Sure, they didn't need to kill but it's what their thirst often lead to. Happens, right?

"Here." Nik startled me out of my thoughts, sliding a leather-bound book over to me "Just… Don't think I'm a stalker now, okay?"

I smirked "You draw what you see, don't you?" I started leafing through the pages carefully and just like I expected the last several pictures were of me. Some were from our time together, others were more abstract in the sense of me wearing ballgowns or a princess dress or something like that "They look amazing."

The vampire bit his lip lightly "You can have one if you want? To remember me by… Only if you want that is."

"You're cute," I teased, trailing my fingers over the one drawing that had both of us in it "I like this one."

"Then it's yours," he replied, carefully separating the page from the book.

"Ah, Angel. There you are," Ms. Nelson's voice sounded from behind us. She looked at Nik in surprise, probably not expecting me to be this close to someone "We have to go back to our hotel now. Our flight leaves in a few hours and I'm not sure how long it will take us to get to the airport."

I smiled at her and nodded "Alright. It was nice to meet you, Nik. I really enjoyed talking to you these last few days."

"I feel the same way, love," he told me quietly "Here. Give me your phone." I handed it over and he quickly entered his phone number "There. Now we can stay in contact."

"Thank you," I nodded, texting him my number.

Ms. Nelson had watched our exchange curiously and once we were out of Nik's earshot, she leaned over to me "He's handsome. How did you meet?"

I blushed "Maybe," I admitted "He came up to me on the first day and we just started talking… Is that wrong?"

"No," she shook her head "Well, I don't think it is. Robert told me about his. Mr. Mikaelson has always supported the gallery with donations when they needed it. From what I was told, he actually purchased one of your paintings."

My head snapped to hers "I didn't know that."

"'The Spark'. It was the one you were standing in front of, right?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

My Art teacher climbed into the cab behind me and gave the driver the address of our hotel "So, how does it feel to have sold all of the paintings you had here?"

"Amazing," I grinned happily "I honestly never expected it… I mean, I wanted it to happen but I didn't believe it actually would…"

"To take the words out of your aunt's mouth 'We all told you so'." She poked my side.

I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms in front of my chest "Yeah, yeah." I leaned back, settling in for the rest of the travel time. Despite the fact that I had a good time, I couldn't wait to get back home.


	21. 1x20 Blood Brothers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here's the new chapter. I know it didn't take as long for you guys since I only started cross-posting a few days ago but I still apologize for the wait...

It was already late afternoon when I arrived home. Ms. Nelson's friend who had picked us up from the airport had dropped me off in the driveway, helping me with my bags, while I got Hero out of the car.

"Thanks," I nodded, rubbing my eyes tiredly. The plane ride – while short – was incredibly exhausting. There was another asshole somewhere in the middle of the cabin, complaining about a dog allergy. He randomly started a fit of fake sneezing until the stewardess shut him up. Even though I wanted to fall into bed and sleep for a few months, the tiredness couldn't erase the excitement I felt. I had a ton more sketches that I could turn into paintings and a new friend. I really didn't know why I got along so well with Nik but I guess it had something to do with being so similar. There were a lot of things that we differ in but I guess it wasn't enough for us to hate each other.

I took off Hero's leash because he was jumping around energetically, almost causing me to lose hold of my suitcase. My trek to the front door was so much shorter that way and soon I was inside the house. God, I was glad that I did the show in New York but I was also glad that it's over now and I'm back home. The city wasn't for me. I preferred a place with not too many people around.

"Angel?" a familiar voice smiled from the bottom of the stairs.

I blinked at the person in surprise. Why didn't I know that he was here? I dropped my suitcase and ran forward, throwing myself into his arms excitedly "Uncle John." His arms wrapped around me tightly and he spun me around a few times "What are you doing here?"

Uncle John set me down but didn't release me from the hug "What? Can't I come to see my favourite niece and nephew?"

"Usually… Yeah," I nodded "Anyway. Guess what?"

"Mm." He put on the most exaggerated thinking face on "The Art show went well?"

I nodded, bouncing up and down, my earlier tiredness completely forgotten "Yup. I sold all of my paintings. Robert said that he would transfer the money to me within the next few days."

"That's amazing, Angie," John grinned, leaning down to peck my cheek "Your mom and dad would be so proud of you. You know they supported you. Through Hell and back."

"Thank you, Uncle John," I whispered.

He seemed to realized that his words didn't have the effect he wanted them to have "So, how have you been?"

I shrugged "Not too bad. I made friends, stood up to Elena a few times and found out that I'll never move to New York. Ever."

"That's good," he snorted, ruffling my hair "Jeremy is with his girlfriend, by the way. I think they wanted to go to the Grill."

"You disapprove?" I frowned, taking in his tone "You know that Jay doesn't care that Anna is a vampire, right? Neither do I. He's happy with her… I don't think I've seen him this happy since mom and dad died. We both like to pretend that we're happy, even if we're not, in hopes it will become reality."

Uncle John sighed "I guess so. I still don't like it though."

I rolled my eyes "You shouldn't be prejudiced. They are only trying to survive. I get that they kill people and that vampires like Logan Fell should be killed but there are a lot of good ones out there as well."

"When have you become so mature?"

I shrugged "It's the upbringing, Uncle John. I had to grow up quickly. I also see the real monsters in the world and Anna, Pearl, Damon and Stefan aren't monsters."

"Will you accompany me to the Grill? I'm actually meeting Pearl there now," he said, holding out his arm for me to take.

"Can you just wait for ten minutes? I want to change out of these clothes and drink something."

John laughed "Sure. Go on."

True to my word, it only took me ten minutes to get changed, put my hair into a high ponytail and drink some water. Opposed to the sweatpants I was wearing before, I now had on a pair of ripped skinny jeans, sneakers and a sweatshirt with the script 'Normal people scare me'. Classy but still pretty comfortable. I'm happy… At least I wasn't one of those people who dressed like sluts just so they get looked at. To be honest, I would rather stay in the background than to be noticed most of the time anyway, so yeah. Sweatshirts and jeans were my best friends.

"Huh. You actually only took ten minutes to get ready," John mumbled.

I smirked "Why? Aren't used to girls only taking ten minutes instead of a few hours?"

"You bet," he laughed, holding out his arm again. I took it with a smile and followed him to his car, Hero on my heels. I didn't bother to dig out his vest anymore, just clipping on his leash again. People around here knew that he was a service dog and I didn't care too much "My lady?"

"Why thank you, my lord," I smiled, handing him Hero's leash while I slipped into the passenger seat. We arrived at the Grill not too long after we left our house. Usually, I would have walked like I do everywhere but Uncle John offered.

Inside, I looked around attentively, checking out who was here and who wasn't. Damon was leaning against one of the pool tables, deep in a conversation with both Jeremy and Anna. I smiled slightly, glad that they got along so well. I didn't even want to think how it would have happened if I hadn't been here on some of the occasions.

"You can go to them," Uncle John prodded, sitting down at one of the tables "No need to humour the old man."

I snorted "I haven't seen you in months. Forgive me for wanting to spend some time with my favourite uncle."

"I'm your only uncle," he pointed out.

"Technically, you're not. But you're still my favourite by far." My mind flashed to a big, beefy man with a face that was flushed purple. As soon as it came, it vanished though. The last thing I needed now, was to think about my previous life.

Uncle John was watching my face attentively "You're really getting better. I'm glad."

I smiled and pressed a small kiss to his cheek "I missed you, Uncle John. Have fun with Pearl."

"Go away, you brat," he laughed, shooing me away.

I grinned as I watched Pearl sitting down across from him, a small smile on her face. It was barely a lift of the corners of her lips but still.

"So your mother was in love with Jonathan Gilbert and he betrayed her?" Jeremy questioned Anna quietly.

"Yup," the older vampire nodded, looking at me over Jay's shoulder. I put a finger to my lips and winked. Anna was the only one who had seen me out of the three of them.

Jeremy frowned "And now my uncle wants this invention-device thing that she gave to Damon?"

"Does he?" I spoke up from behind my brother.

Jay whirled around in surprise "Angel," he exclaimed, throwing his arms around me exuberantly "So, are you a famous artist now?"

I grinned "Wouldn't you like to know?" I rested my head on his shoulder "No, there are several of my paintings out in the world now. Robert wanted some more for other shows that he's hosting but those aren't for a few more months."

"That's amazing," Jeremy murmured, letting go of me.

As soon as he was gone, Damon took his place "So, how was New York?"

"Big," I grimaced "Very big. I mean, it was alright for a week or two but I wouldn't want to live there. I prefer smaller towns…"

"Oh, you disappoint me," the vampire groaned teasingly "And I thought you were a girl from my own heart."

Anna and I started laughing and I shook my head "I missed you guys. About Uncle John… I think that he's coming around. He might be an ass to anyone else but Jeremy and I are his brother's children. He would do a lot for us. I actually already talked to him about that… Threw in a bit about monsters and knowing what real monsters were."

"Your manipulative side is showing," Jay remarked quietly, trying not to show how much that was telling him.

Damon blinked down at me "Are you talking about Logan?"

I licked my lips nervously "No… Yes, a little. My uncle – my real uncle – was very abusive towards me. Same with my aunt and cousin. They disliked my mother and her husband so much… After they died and I was abandoned on their doorstep… Well, they didn't take that too well."

"That actually explains a lot," the Salvatore sighed, pulling me into another hug "You know that we don't think any less of you, right? It wasn't your fault."

"I know that now," I told him "It doesn't mean that I understand that sometimes…"

He ruffled my hair and looked down at his watch "Listen, I gotta go meet Alaric."

"Do I want to know?" I questioned.

Damon shrugged "The tomb vampires are out and about…"

"Ouch," I winced "Alright, go ahead then."

"I'll see you," he waved and vanished out of the back door.

Jeremy held out his hand for Anna's "How about we go and see what your mother and Uncle John are talking about?"

I smirked "Do you really want to go?"

"Oh God," my younger brother groaned "That's something I didn't want to picture."

I laughed and reached up to mess with his hair "That's what I'm for, brother. Annoy the shit out of you while also messing with your head."

"You two have an interesting relationship," Anna smiled, going into the direction of her mother, pulling Jeremy along with her.

"Yeah," Jay sighed, grinning back at me "It's always been like that."

I flopped down on the bench next to my uncle, making him look down at me "Hey," I poked out my tongue at the older man.

"Brat," he snorted and hid his face in his hands when Jeremy did the same on his other side "Brats. Why do I even visit."

Jay and I exchanged glances "Cause you love us, Uncle. I mean, who wouldn't? We're adorable."

Pearl and Anna were watching our interaction intently "He's so different around them," the older woman whispered in surprise.

"So, I have a question," I spoke up after a few moments of silence "What the hell have I missed and what the fuck are you planning?" The last question was aimed at my uncle with a small glare. He was just opening his mouth when I continued "And don't tell me something about the device being a family heirloom. What do you want with it?"

"I have the rest of the device," he told me, not bothering to hide anything "The other vampires who were in the tomb are dangerous. I don't mind if you get your friends to safety but the rest have to die."

Pearl frowned "How would you even know about them?"

"Katherine," John muttered, rubbing a hand down his face "You have to understand. I'm not a bad guy. I saw how happy Jeremy is with Anna and – despite him being an asshole – Damon is an okay guy. I just want to protect my family. Angel got kidnapped once already…"

"That wasn't your fault," I poked him "I was stupid enough to antagonize Logan when he showed up in front of our house. Anyway, it's over now and I'm fine."

Pearl looked at my uncle intently, trying to figure out whether he was lying or not "I gave the device to Damon."

John groaned "Well, that complicates things."

"Not necessarily," I spoke up "Just tell him what you want to do with it. Maybe he'll actually agree… You never know." I stood up from my place at the table "If you'll excuse me… I'm quite tired again."

"Do you want me to drive you home?" John questioned.

I shook my head with a small smile "Don't worry. A bit of a walk is exactly what Hero and I need now. He's been copped up in a small space most of today."


	22. 1x21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of your Review, Kudos and whatever else. I'm glad that you're interested and that I thought about cross-posting.
> 
> Enjoy.

As soon as I left the Grill, I felt like something was wrong. Something weird was going on. I felt like I was being followed and I was nervous. Not scared, nervous. I hadn't stopped training my magic, trying out several things on branches and plants so I could probably deal with a threat to me.

A few streets down, I wasn't even surprised to feel a hand pulling me into the dark alley nearby "What have they planned?" a dark voice hissed into my ear, a body pressing me against the wall firmly.

I shifted a bit, feeling a wayward stone poking into my back uncomfortably "What?"

"Don't play with me," the vampire snarled, his hand coming around my neck "I know that the Council planned something. You're a Gilbert. Tell me."

"Wait, how do you know I'm a Gilbert?" I blinked, not even trying to answer his question. This probably had something to do with the Gilbert device but since I hadn't been in town for the last week, I could probably plead innocence long enough to distract him.

The vampire growled, tightening his hand "I heard the Salvatore talking about it with Pearl's daughter. Also, you kind of stand out. Now, what do they have planned."

"Why do you think I know anything? I have been out of town for a week," I said, hiding my nervousness as well as I could. While my magic was tingling, wanting to help me out of the situation, I wasn't sure if I could actually deal with a fully grown vampire.

The man laughed "They told you something."

"Nope. Sorry," I smirked, grabbing a piece of wood I had been levitating towards me slowly. Without a second thought, I shoved the makeshift stake into the heart of the vampire, killing him. Once he was on the floor, dead, I took a shaky breath, leaning against the filthy wall behind me. I killed someone. A vampire but a person nevertheless. Maybe I was more like Voldemort than I thought… We had a similar upbringing after all…

No, I was nothing like him. Nothing! I grabbed Hero's leash, shushing his barking quickly. I pulled him along with me, running back to the Grill "Uncle John," I gasped, throwing myself into my uncle's arms without a second thought.

"Angel?" he frowned "What's wrong?" John tilted up my head, catching my panicked gaze "What happened to your neck?"

"There… vampire… I killed it, Uncle John," I babbled "I killed someone."

His arms came around me tightly and I felt his head resting on mine "Hush, little one. It's alright. You did well." John looked over at Pearl who was still sitting across from him "Could you go and check it out?"

"Of course," she smiled lightly "Where was it?"

"Angie?"

I took a couple of breaths, trying to calm myself "Few corners from here. Alley between the apothecary and the abandoned building."

"I will go," Pearl said, smoothing a hand over my hair while she walked past.

As soon as she was gone, I burrowed further into my uncle's arms "Come one, Angel. I'll take you home…"

I nodded lightly and sighed "Sorry. Didn't mean to react like that."

"It's normal. Don't worry about it," he hushed, helping me up. Uncle John grabbed Hero's leash for me and we were out of the door and over by his car in minutes.

"Mr. Gilbert," Pearl called out, hurrying over to us at human speed "I have called Damon to take care of the body. You did good, Angel. He was one of the more… sadistic ones who were smart enough not to be around when Frederick kidnapped the younger of the two brothers."

John helped me into the passenger side again and I smiled at Pearl, completely exhausted now "Thanks. I guess."

I fell asleep sometime during the beginning of the ten-minute car ride and the next time I woke up, I was tucked into my bed with Hero and Blue cuddled up on either side of me.

"You're awake," Jenna remarked from the door "It's almost time for school."

I fought out from under the covers and ran over to her, embracing her tightly "Missed you, Aunt Jenna."

She laughed and hugged me back just as tight "I missed you too, Angel. I heard that your show was a success?"

"I sold all of my paintings," I grinned, bouncing excitedly again "It was amazing, Aunt Jenna. It really was. Robert – the friend of Ms. Nelson – wants more paintings in a few months for another show."

"That's amazing," she told me, sounding just as excited as me "That reminds me. I bookmarked the page of one of your journals. That's the one Carol wants you to paint for her."

I looked over at my desk "That journal?" I walked over and leafed to the page that was marked. It was the drawing I did of a magnificent landscape. On both sides, there were huge cliffs, while in the valley there was a river with trees stretching out until you couldn't see anymore. The original was done with coloured pencil but I could just as well do this one as an acrylic painting. Would take me a few days though. If I started today and pulled one or two all-nighters, I could be finished by Thursday, one day before Founder's Day "Okay. I can do that. I should get ready now."

"Alright. But we'll talk about New York this afternoon, missy," she threatened good-naturedly.

"Yes, Aunt Jenna," I parroted "Whatever you say, Aunt Jenna."

She snorted, throwing the towel she was holding at my head "Brat."

I scratched my chin thoughtfully "I have heard that before."

"Let me guess. John?"

"Who else?" I grinned, walking over to my closet. I quickly changed into the clothes I wanted to wear today and grabbed my school bag.

School was madness. The whole Parade thing was annoying like every year and I couldn't wait to escape again. Lunchtime came quickly and Alaric caught me on my way to the Art classroom "Hey, Angel. Can you – come to my classroom for a moment?"

"Sure," I shrugged curiously "What's up?" I froze when I saw Stefan and Elena already inside the classroom "What's going on?"

"We're just waiting for Damon," the History teacher said, sitting down at his desk.

I hummed, jumping onto one of the tables halfway to the back. Hero curled up on the floor at my feet while we waited. I pulled out my sketchpad, starting on a sketch of Alaric at his desk.

"Damon, thanks for coming," Jenna's boyfriend remarked, standing up again. I put my pencil down, looking at the vampire.

"Sorry, I'm late. My dog ate my uh… never mind."

I snorted and walked over to him "I think that would be my dog," I teased "And he's trained not to eat homework. Trust me. I've tried."

"I heard that," Alaric grinned before he turned serious "I saw Isobel last night."

Damon tensed "Isobel is here?" He got a nod as reply "In town?"

I frowned "Isobel as in Elena's mother Isobel?"

"Yup," the History teacher murmured "Also, Isobel as in my formerly dead wife Isobel."

"Awkward," I rolled my eyes. Somehow drama seemed to follow everyone in this room. Actually, I think it started when Damon and Stefan came to town.

"Did you ask her about Uncle John? Are they working together?" Damon questioned the teacher.

Alaric shook his head "No."

"No they're not?"

"No, I didn't ask," he corrected.

I cleared my throat "You know, Uncle John has planned something. I think we all know that. I talked to him about it… He just wants to get rid of the tomb vampires."

Damon squinted at me "Really?"

"I don't know. I want to believe him but I don't know," I rolled my eyes "He hates vampires."

The older Salvatore turned to Elena "What did she want?"

"She wants to see me, Damon," my sister told him, ignoring the stare she got in return.

"Alaric is supposed to arrange a meeting. We don't know why or what she wants," Stefan added.

My phone vibrated and I frowned. Who the hell texts me at this time? Nik… Oh… ' **Did you get home alright yesterday?** '

' **Except for the random vampire who attacked me. Sure,** ' I replied with a small smile. Even though I missed home, Nik was someone I really enjoyed talking to over the last week. It was really weird…

It didn't take long for me to get a reply ' **This I have to hear. Explain, please?** '

' **Well, there's this tomb where some of my ancestors imprisoned a couple of vampires. They got out the day I left apparently. Some are still around,** ' I explained as well as I could in a text.

"Angel?"

I startled and blinked up at Alaric "Sorry…"

His lips twitched up "Don't be. I was young once. Who's the guy?"

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," I murmured, gathering my stuff "I should go. I have Art."

Later, I was sitting in the kitchen with Jeremy and Jenna, starting with the painting for Mrs. Lockwood.

"Hey, Anna. I know you said you were busy for a while but I thought we could hang out later? Uh… Give me a call when you get this," Jay said, hanging up the phone after he was done.

"How's Anna?" Aunt Jenna questioned "I like that girl, she has fire."

Jeremy shrugged "She's fine. Spending some time with her mother now."

"Girl trouble?" Uncle John asked, entering the kitchen.

"No, no trouble," Jeremy murmured.

John grinned, ruffling his hair "So, what are you painting?"

"Something for Mrs. Lockwood," I shrugged.

Jenna looked over from the stove "Do you want something to eat too?"

"Did you cook that?" John frowned suspiciously.

I snorted. He knew just as well as we did that Jenna couldn't cook worth a damn "No, I did."

"Oh, thank God. I would love some," he nodded with a smile, sitting down next to Jeremy.

An hour or two later, I was alone in the kitchen, Elena was in the living room wallowing in self-pity. I think something happened with Isobel or something. Somehow I did feel sorry for her. She didn't really deserve to go through that, no matter how she acted towards me.

I sighed, putting the paintbrush down "Are you okay, Elena?"

"Why do you care?" she sneered.

"Because despite everything… You're my sister. And even if your birth mother is a bitch, you still have Jeremy, Aunt Jenna, Uncle John and me. We're your family and after this, we can go back to hating each other or whatever. I just wanted to tell you that," I smiled shyly.

Elena blinked up at me in surprise "You do know what you're talking about, don't you?"

"More than you know," I murmured "Anyway. I should get back to painting."

"Angel?" she stopped me in my tracks "Thank you."

I shrugged "What's family for? Believe me, Elena… Even when we were younger, I would have killed to be you. Loving parents, a family, amazing friends. You had everything I ever wanted. But you treated me like shit. Take this as my five minutes of kindness towards you. Everything else, you've destroyed over the last ten years." With those words, I left her sitting there and gathered my stuff to continue painting upstairs. I didn't want to stay down here any longer and really felt like I needed to be in a room with only me, myself and I.

I wasn't sure how long I was alone until Jeremy knocked on the door "Hey, Tiny. Want to come to the school with me? You make everything more bearable."

I snorted "You just want to make me miserable." I put down my brush and sighed "Alright. Let me just get cleaned up."

"No, don't," Jay stopped me "It looks… artistic. Just come on. Please?"

"Urgh," I groaned "Fine then. Let's go."

An hour later, we were standing a bit off from the whole crowd, just watching people. I left Hero at home since he was sleeping and I didn't want to overexert him. Did that once with Blue and it ended badly. I watched as Elena walked over to Isobel and started talking to her. This couldn't be good…

I was proven right only minutes later when I felt a hand go around my mouth from behind, pulling me to a car. Next to me, I saw the same thing happening to Jeremy as well. When I started struggling, the woman pushed me into the car, head first, knocking me out.

"Angel," Jeremy's voice roused me from my unconsciousness "Come on, sis. Please."

"I'm awake, Jay," I mumbled, sitting up from where I was lying on the floor. He helped me into a chair and sat down on the arm of it, hugging me close.

It didn't take long for us to hear the familiar voice of Uncle John "Then why did you call me here?"

"Because I have the next best thing," Isobel smirked, entering the room where Jay and I were, surrounded by the woman's lackeys.

"What the hell are you doing?" John frowned, coming to stand in front of us.

Isobel shrugged "Getting what I want."

"Yeah but they're my niece and nephew," our uncle said "And you're going to let them go right this second."

"That gaudy ring on your finger comes off," Isobel pointed out, ignoring what John said.

John sighed "Come on Isobel, I know you okay? It's me John. You can't hurt a kid."

I exchanged a look with Jeremy and frowned. How did Uncle John know that woman? They were way too close for them to have just met a while ago.

"I'll kill them to prove you wrong," Isobel sneered.

"Really?" John scoffed "Are you that far gone? Look, I know you've changed but the old Isobel is somewhere in there, isn't she? Come on let them go."

The vampire smiled at our uncle for a few seconds before she turned to her minions "Faites le souffrir." The woman grabbed a vase and hit Uncle John in the face with it and soon both humans were beating our father's brother. After a few minutes, Isobel stopped them, leaning down to catch his hand and removed the ring "Nice try. We'll see how you do without this." She left the room, leaving Jeremy and me to look down at John.

I sighed when the door closed after the three "I'm really sick of getting kidnapped. This is the third time in the space of a month. Someone must really hate me up there." I knelt down next to my uncle while Jeremy went looking for a towel "Do you trust me?"

"What?" John groaned, leaning his back against the chair we had been on earlier "Why do you ask that? Angel?"

I took a deep breath and raised my hand to his face where he was bleeding from the vase "Please don't hate me." I let some of my magic flow into the wound, encouraging it to heal. Once that was done, I carefully probed his ribs, doing the same there.

"What?" my uncle frowned, moving around experimentally "How did you do that?"

"I –" I broke off, taking a few steps back when Jeremy returned with the towel.

My brother gave the towel to our uncle and turned back to me "You healed him?"

I nodded "I have magic, Uncle John. That's how I did that," I whispered nervously.

"Magic? Since when?"

"I always had it," I murmured uncomfortably "I – I'll tell you my story but not – not here and not now. Please?"

"Okay," he nodded "Okay. I – I don't think I can talk. Hanging out with vampires."

I looked up at him, a spark of mischief in my eyes "That's not all, is there? You knew her before. Just how close were you two?"

Uncle John spluttered "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure," I smirked "Can we go home now? I really want to just forget this ever happened."

"Of course," our uncle shrugged, struggling to get up.

The drive home was mostly silent but I spoke up just before we reached the house "You really want to kill all the vampires in town? All of them?"

"No," Uncle John murmured "I mean, I wanted to and Isobel told me that they should all die but I plan on keeping Pearl away from the parade. You may do the same with the Salvatore brothers and your girlfriend, Jeremy."

I just nodded, leaning my head against the window. Why couldn't life be quiet for a while? Now that all the drama was taking place, I wished that I was back in New York. While there were way too many people there for me, it was still better than to get kidnapped all the damn time.


	23. 1x22 Founders' Day

The next afternoon, I actually finished with the painting, leaving me completely exhausted. John had told Pearl about the device at the same time as Jay told Anna not to come to the parade. I wasn't sure if Uncle John felt the same thing as his ancestor towards Pearl but from what he told me, he actually lied to Isobel about Pearl's death.

"Uncle John, can I borrow your car?" I called down the stairs, staring at my finished with a critical look.

A few moments later, the man was standing in the doorway "Is that the one you did for Carol? It looks awesome."

"Thanks," I smiled "I only need to get it to Mrs. Lockwood now. That's why I need your car."

Uncle John shrugged "Sure. Here." He held out the key for me to take "Just don't crash. Do you need help getting it down?"

"That would be nice," I told him, stepping to the side to let him work his magic. Figuratively speaking, that is. John quickly loaded the canvas into the backseat and shut the door "Thank you, Uncle John. I'll be back in a bit." I slid into the driver's seat and made my way to the Lockwood Mansion. I told Tyler to tell his mother that I was almost finished with the painting, so they should expect me.

"Angel," Carol greeted once she opened the front door "How are you?"

I smiled lightly "I'm fine, Mrs. Lockwood. I have that painting you wanted."

"Ah, yes. Tyler told me that you would bring it today," she grinned excitedly "I can't wait to see it. The drawing you made was phenomenal."

"Thank you. It's in the backseat," I pointed out "It's a bit too big for me to carry, though."

Carol peaked through the car window and sighed in disappointment when all she could see was the cloth I had wrapped it in "Hold on. I'll go and get Richard." She walked off, coming back moments later with her husband.

"Angel," Mr. Lockwood smiled, holding out his hand for me to shake.

I grasped his hand with a nod "Hello. Erm, could you help with the painting? I need to get the car back to Uncle John, otherwise, he'll probably have a heart attack or something."

"Men and their cars," Carol snorted, opening the door so Richard could take the canvas. It was inside the living room pretty quickly and the older woman was almost impatient to unclothe the finished work. I wasn't sure whether to be nervous or proud that she wanted one of my paintings. Once it was situated on the cushions of the couch, Mrs. Lockwood pulled back the piece of fabric. Once she could see the work, she gasped in delight "This looks fantastic, Angel. You really outdid yourself."

I bowed my head "It's nothing. So you like it then?"

"Yes," she nodded "I love it. How much do you want for it?"

"What?" I shook my head "No. It's – it's fine. You don't have to pay for it."

Richard put a hand on my shoulder "Nonsense. We would be happy to pay for your time."

"I – I don't know," I murmured, completely overwhelmed. It was different in New York. I didn't know the people who bought my paintings. Well, I did know Nik but the rest I didn't know. These were people who have known me for ages and they wanted to pay me for something I would gladly give for free "I really don't think…"

"How about we pay you ten thousand? I believe this is appropriate?" Carol offered "It should compensate the cost of your time and the material?"

I swallowed "You really don't have to pay me at all."

"But you did sell your paintings at the show. How did you price them?" Richard questioned, looking at the painting with a small smile.

"I didn't," I grinned sheepishly "Ms. Nelson's friend priced them but I think I made like two million on all twenty paintings. He didn't really tell me the exact value. I should be getting the money during the next few days."

Carol took my hand in hers "Then we would gladly pay ten thousand. This is really, really good, dear."

"Then… thank you," I smiled, squeezing her hand in thanks.

After they promised me the price, I drove back home in a daze. Ten thousand. I mean, I know that Robert sold my paintings for more than that but I didn't necessarily have a part in that. It's still a bit mind-boggling that I could make money out of a hobby.

"So, how did it go?" John questioned when I entered the living room.

I handed him back his keys and dropped down on the couch, still a bit in shock "Ten thousand…"

"What?"

I blinked a few times "No, sorry. I – They're paying me ten thousand dollars for the painting I did."

John smiled proudly "That's great. Soon you'll be rich."

"I am rich already," I snorted "I should probably check my account soon."

The next day was Founders' Day and everything was chaotic. I was really glad that I didn't have to wear some weird costume or anything. The only thing I did sort of sign up for was to help Mrs. Lockwood with the organization of everything, so come morning I was at the High School, trying not to laugh at the flustered woman.

"No, no, no, no, no! It's all wrong. The marching band should be in front of the Historic Society. Matt, get up on the float. Boys, I asked you to put chairs on the Founders' Float. Ladies! Time to get on the float," Mrs. Lockwood commanded. I took a few steps back and walked over to Stefan and Damon. What were they even doing here? They shouldn't be here with everything Uncle John planned…

"What are you doing here?" Stefan frowned.

Damon smirked "Why wouldn't I be here? Bonnie deactivated the Gilbert invention, Isobel is gone and it's Founders' Day! I'm here to eat cotton candy and steal your girl."

"Don't start with me, Damon," his younger brother groaned.

"Hey," I spoke up, making my presence known "What was that about Bonnie?"

Damon raised an eyebrow "She deactivated the device."

"And you trust her? I mean, I wouldn't in your place. Sheila might have mellowed out somewhat but Bonnie still hates all vampires." Bonnie's grandmother showed up on our doorstep the day after I returned from New York. We talked about what happened when she opened the tomb. While she wasn't necessarily happy about what I told her. I did explain that I had magic but it was a bit different from hers. Not too much detail but enough for her to accept that I saved her life.

Stefan blinked "You know, I think you're right. When does John want to use the device?"

I shrugged "No clue. Sometime during the Mayor Lockwood's speech maybe?"

An hour later, the parade was starting with the floats going around. I was with Uncle John in my dad's old practice, still hearing Mrs. Lockwood's commentary through the door " _Let's give a big hand to the Mystic Falls' High School Marching Band._ "

"I remember waking up in here, completely confused," I murmured, looking around.

John looked over at me from preparing the device "You never talked about it much."

I shrugged "I went from a graveyard to waking up in here. That warrants some panic, don't you think?"

"Ah, John," Mayor Lockwood's voice interrupted us "Angel? What are you doing here?"

"Just hanging out with my uncle," I smiled.

John looked over to the mayor and held up the Gilbert watch he had gotten from Isobel "This is the key. Once inserted, the device will be activated. It will work only once, for an estimated time of five minutes."

"Yes, how does it work?" Richard questioned, stepping closer to us.

"It's a high-pitched frequency that humans can't hear. Any vampires within a five-block radius will be incapacitated, exposing them. At that time, the sheriff's deputies will inject them with vervain and bring them here, where we will finish them off," John explained, exchanging a long look with me.

Richard frowned "And you're certain they're attacking tonight?"

"I have a source," John shrugged. I coughed into my hand, earning a sharp glare from my uncle "Once of the vampires from the tomb confirmed the attack. They want revenge for what our ancestors did in 1864. It makes us their target."

"We're taking an enormous risk," Richard pointed out "We're talking about our families, John. Children, wives…"

John took a deep breath, putting his hand on my knee, comforting both himself and me to an extent "This is the only way to draw them out and kill them… all of them."

In the end, Mayor Lockwood nodded "We need to talk to Liz though. Will you come with?"

"Yes," John nodded.

I jumped down from the window pane "I have someone to find. I'll be back later, Uncle John."

He nodded, kissing my forehead "Be careful."

"I will. Don't worry," I smiled, running out of the door with Hero following me. Now, Stefan… Stefan… where is he? The parade is over… Ah, there. With Elena… Great "Stefan," I called out, jogging over to them "You have to get out of here. Take Damon and get back to the Boarding House or to our house. John will activate the device and we can't be sure if it's really not working. Better be safe than sorry."

"Alright," the younger of the two Salvatores nodded "Thank you, Angel."

I looked at him silently and then gave a sharp nod, glancing at Elena before I walked back towards the office. Since the station is pretty much next to Grayson's office, I assumed Uncle John was almost back already "Get Elena and Jay home as well. Jeremy will probably want to go see Anna anyway." Under my breath, I added "Keep them safe." Once Stefan nodded, I turned around and slowly walked back to the office. Mayor Lockwood was walking over to the stage, preparing his speech.

"Get in position," John told one of the deputies when I entered. He nodded and walked past me, out of the door "I'm scared."

I walked over to him and grabbed his hand "So am I." I watched John as he continued to prepare the device, waiting for the signal.

Suddenly, just as the fireworks started outside, Damon stormed through the door "Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"Damon? What are you doing here? Please. Just go," I pleaded, walking over to the vampire.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do," John replied "I'm getting rid of the threat the tomb vampires pose on us." Damon looked at my uncle in surprise, obviously not expecting him to actually be this nice "I'm sorry." John activated the device and suddenly there was this high tone that made my head split open. I fell down at the same time as Damon, screaming in pain. I vaguely heard Uncle John gasp, falling to his knees next to me "Angel. What's… How is that possible?"

I whimpered as the pain went on for seemingly forever. It was almost as bad as I felt when the Cruciatus was used on me. Darkness seeped into my vision and I passed out on the floor.

When I woke up again, I was lying on one of the couches in the Salvatore Boarding House, my head in Damon's lap "What happened?" I croaked, my voice really rough.

"You're awake," the vampire sighed in relief, running a hand through my hair "You passed out while the device was working. You've been out for three hours now."

I frowned "Why?"

"No clue. Are you feeling alright?" Damon questioned, looking down at me.

"Yes. Just a bit of a headache. Can you bring me home? What about the others?" I replied, fighting to sit up.

The Salvatore nodded "Sure. Stefan is at your home with Elena, your brother and Anna. Pearl is probably with John. Caroline is in the hospital. Tyler Lockwood crashed the car and Mayor Lockwood is dead."

"What?" I gasped.

"He was affected by the device," Damon murmured "Just like you. Although John was a bit busy with you when they brought the mayor in."

I tilted my head "Huh. Maybe he was something else. I mean, maybe it was my magic that reacted to the device but I don't know."

"That's a possibility but what was he?"

"Don't ask me. Where's my phone?" I blinked, patting my pocket in panic.

Damon held it out to me "Who's Nik? Kept texting."

I snatched it back from him and looked at the screen "Just someone I met in New York."

' **So, how was the parade?** '

' **Angel?** '

' **I'm getting a bit worried now. I know that you take your phone everywhere.** '

Twenty messages in total. Each one getting more frantic as the time went by. I groaned and unlocked my phone ' **Sorry about that. Bit of trouble. Passed out.** ' I followed Damon to his car when my phone buzzed again.

' **WHAT?** '

' **I'm fine though. No need to worry,** ' I replied quickly, getting into the car.

"Just someone, huh?" Damon grinned, waggling his eyebrows "I really don't believe you."

I blushed "Shut up. We talked. That's about it. Nik was nice and actually bought one of my paintings…"

"You're in looove," Damon smirked.

"I'm not," I snorted, slugging him in the arm.

' **I have a feeling you're trouble, aren't you, love?** ' I could just imagine the smirk on Nik's face, typing that message. Bastard.

' **It's not my fault,** ' I protested ' **Trouble seems to follow me. So… enough about me. How was your day?** '

' **Nice change in subject. It was alright. Usual, really.** '

I smiled a bit ' **Meaning you're planning world domination?** '

' **I'll have you know that I don't want to rule the world. Way too much work. America though…** '

' **Yeah, yeah. Shush you,** ' I snorted ' **I'm almost home. Tomorrow?** '

This time it took a few minutes for me to get a response ' **You're not feeling too great, are you?** '

' **Just a headache. I'm fine, Nik. Talk to you soon.** '

"We're here," Damon ripped me from my conversation with the vampire I met recently.

I smiled "Thank you, Damon. I appreciate your help."

"No problem, kid."

I pressed a small kiss to his cheek and hurried to the front door where I was already greeted by Hero and Blue. Uncle John must have taken him home when I collapsed "I'm fine, boys." I scratched their ears, depositing my keys on the dresser "Aunt Jenna?"

"Angel," she jumped up, running over to hug me "John told me what happened. Are you alright?"

I nodded "I'm going to bed though. I'm fine, Aunt Jenna. Don't worry too much."

"I worry because you seem to get into trouble every time. You got kidnapped, you killed a vampire and now this. Angel… Face it, you're a magnet for everything bad," Jenna pointed out.

I huffed "Always nice to hear. Thank you. Goodnight."

She sighed "Night, kid."

A few hours later, it was already dark outside, I woke up, feeling like I needed to drink something. I groaned and dragged myself out of bed. I really hated getting up when I was still tired. It's annoying and once I did what I had to do, I usually wasn't tired anymore. I stumbled down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Angel?" Uncle John frowned when I entered. I hummed, walking over to the fridge, getting out a bottle of water, taking a sip "I'm so sorry. I didn't know that…"

I shook my head "Don't. You couldn't have known."

He walked to the fridge, opening it as well. When he closed it, he startled "You scared me." I looked over to see Elena standing where the door would have hidden her.

"Sorry," she shrugged, looking over at me "Hey, Angel. Are you alright?"

I blinked in surprise "Who are you?"

John looked at me and then at Elena "What are you talking about?"

"That's not Elena," I pointed out "First of all, she's way too nice and second, she feels older. As in vampire old."

"Katherine," my uncle murmured, taking a couple of steps back.

The Elena look-alike smirked "Hello, John." Then she turned to me "How did you know?"

I shrugged "Vampires feel older than human. I – I can't explain it… So you're the one Damon told me about. The one who turned them?"

"Yup," she nodded "I'm Katherine Pierce."

"Angel Gilbert," I introduced myself "Excuse me. I'm going back to bed." I gave Uncle John a quick hug and walked past the two of them back to my room.


	24. 2x01 The Return

I didn't know how long it has been since I went to bed again but however long it was, I was still tired as hell when Jeremy jumped onto my bed "Angel," he hissed, prodding me "Come on, Angel. Wake up. Uncle John is in hospital."

I groaned "'s nice."

"Oh for the..." Jeremy sighed, shoving me from the bed. It was always a last attempt to get me out of bed. One that normally worked pretty well.

I sat up, rubbing my head "Did you just say that Uncle John is in hospital?"

Jay clapped sarcastically "Congrats. You're not totally hopeless. Yes, he was stabbed in the kitchen last night."

"Huh," I mumbled, tilting my head. Wasn't Elena in the kitchen with us last night? No, not Elena. Katherine? Well, apparently Damon wasn't kidding when he said that she's a bitch.

"What do you mean 'huh'? Get up and get dressed. You're going to see him now," Jeremy urged.

I huffed "Fine. Give me five minutes." When he didn't move I glared "That means, get out or I won't be held responsible for any spells I try out on you."

My younger brother pouted "You were nicer when I didn't know you were a witch."

"Bite me," I snapped and then got a good look at him. Jay looked like crap "What happened to you?"

He shrugged "I tried to turn myself into a vampire. Anna gave me some blood."

"What?" I shouted, pulling a sweatshirt over my tank top. Screw changing. At least I was wearing something that could be worn outside "Jay, why?"

"I want to be with her," he explained.

I squeezed my eyes shut "Then you go and ask her to change you. Please, don't try to kill yourself again."

"You don't mind me becoming a vampire? Elena freaked out. That's why I'm not allowed to go with you. Stefan's playing babysitter."

"It's your choice, Jay," I told him, ruffling his hair. I loved doing that, even though he was way taller than me by now.

He smiled at me and fixed his hair "Go. Before Elena jumps the wall."

I pressed a small kiss to his cheek and grabbed my phone and bag, walking out of the room quickly "Elena?"

"Thank God," she sighed in annoyance "How long does it take to wake someone up?"

"A lot," I grinned, walking past her.

On the stairs, a policeman almost ran into me "Are you Miss Angel Gilbert?"

"Yes, sir," I nodded "My siblings woke me up."

"Will you and your sister head to the hospital then?" he questioned.

I nodded, looking behind me to see Elena talking quietly with Stefan "Elena?"

"Coming," she murmured, kissing Stefan, before jogging down the stairs towards me "I'll drive."

I shrugged "Fine with me. I still have a bit of a headache anyway."

At the hospital, I ran over to the reception, asking for my uncle. They told me that he was still in surgery and that both my sister and I should wait until a doctor came to us. Hopefully, they'd be done within an hour or two. I flopped down on one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs, rubbing my head in annoyance. The last thing I needed was this stupid headache coming back.

"You okay?" Damon questioned, sitting down next to me.

I shrugged with a sigh and leaned against his side lightly "I don't know. You know, I talked with Uncle John a while before he got stabbed apparently. Why did I leave him alone?"

"Hey," the vampire murmured "You couldn't have known."

I let out a small, incredulous laugh "I left him alone with Katherine, Damon. That was kind of… Anyway, now I only have to hunt her down and torture her for doing that to my favourite uncle."

Damon blinked in surprise "Isn't he your only uncle?" A short pause followed before he stiffened "Wait, did you just say Katherine?" I nodded, causing Damon to let out a groan "Dammit, I kissed Katherine."

"What?"

"I thought she was Elena," he explained.

I raised my eyebrow at him "Why would you want to kiss Elena?"

He shrugged "To annoy my brother. I'm not in love with her or something… Bit too judgy for my taste. Plus, she's kind of worse than Katherine in my opinion."

"How so?" I frowned, grabbing his hand in mine. Who I was comforting, I didn't know but at least for me it was working.

"Elena acts like a bitch towards you and she always tries to change who I am," he murmured sadly "I think if she had been nicer and not only two-faced, I might have fallen in love with her."

I looked up when Aunt Jenna ran into the waiting area, over to Elena "You'll find someone who deserves to be loved by you, Damon. It might take time but someone's out there, waiting for you. Excuse me, please." I got up and joined my aunt and sister.

"At the fire department," Jenna blinked in surprise, looking at Elena as if she lost her mind "I had to fill out a report. I told you earlier."

"No, you didn't," Elena denied.

Jenna rolled her eyes "Yes, I did."

Two hours later, we got to see Uncle John… who was fine. Disgruntled and a bit snippy but overall fine. He told me that it wasn't my fault what happened with Katherine and that he actually talked with her a bit before she decided to stab him. It was a bit random but nothing he wasn't used to. I thought it was better not to ask what he was talking about. Better for my heart and for my sanity. We talked for a while before the nurse shooed Jenna and me out. Elena had left just after she found out that John would be alright while Aunt Jenna and I stayed here.

"So, will you go to Richard's wake?" Jenna questioned in the car.

I nodded "Damon's taking me there early. I wanna see if there's something I can do for Carol. Need to talk to Jay first though."

"What did he do now?" Jenna groaned good-naturedly.

I hesitated. Should I tell her? "I – It's best if you ask him. Sorry, Jenna."

"That bad?" she frowned worriedly.

"Ask him. If Jay wants to tell you, he will."

Jenna glanced at me out of the corner of her eye and sighed in defeat "You two were always too good at this. Alright, fine. I'll ask Jeremy."

I nodded once and ran into the house quickly, up the stairs "Jay? Can I come in?" I called through the door.

"Yeah," my brother called back.

I opened the door and slipped inside, seeing my baby brother sitting on his bed with Anna "Oh. Hey, Anna. How are you and your mother?"

The older vampire smiled up at me "Thanks to you, we're alright. Mother is worried for your uncle though. How is he?"

"Complaining," I shrugged "He'll be fine. Can't say the same about Katherine. If I find her again and I definitely will, she'll pay."

"You can't kill her," Anna exclaimed worriedly.

I threw her a quick grin "I don't want to kill her. Hell, I met her and she was actually nicer to me than Elena. But she has to pay for hurting Uncle John."

"Hm," she murmured "Are you alright, by the way? I heard that you were affected by the device."

"Thanks for reminding me. I should probably take some Aspirin or something…" I groaned under my breath "And I have to change. Will you two go to Mayor Lockwood's wake as well?"

Jeremy grimaced "Pass. You didn't answer the question though. How were you affected?"

"How should I know? I mean, the only thing different about me is… Oh. My magic. Since it's different from what's around in this world, I'm guessing it has something to do with that," I mused.

"Magic?" Anna gasped, wide-eyed "You're a witch?"

I tugged at my hair in frustration "Jay can explain. I know he's serious about you, so you might as well know… I really should go now."

Jeremy grinned, before turning to Anna "Prepare for the tale of your life. Hey, maybe you should write a book or something, Tiny. I bet it would do great."

"Maybe I should," I laughed "Although there would definitely be Copyright issues. Anyway. Bye, Anna, Jay."

"Bye, Angel. We'll see you later," Anna smiled.

I went into my own room, changing out of my sleeping clothes. The dress I picked out for the occasion was similar to the one I wore for my parent's funeral. I never even looked at the other dress again after I wore it. Maybe someday but I can't yet. It was still too fresh.

Half an hour later, Damon and I walked into the Lockwood Mansion where… most of the town was gathered to mourn the late mayor.

"I want to know exactly who's responsible for killing my husband," Carol demanded when Damon and I joined her and Sheriff Forbes.

Liz nodded in understanding "I'm looking into it but you have to be straight with me. Is there any reason Richard was affected by the vampire device?"

"What are you implying?" Carol sneered "That he was one of them?"

"I stepped between them "No one's implying that, Carol."

She just continued as if I hadn't spoken "Your deputy screwed up, plain and simple which makes you responsible."

Damon sighed "Carol…"

Liz, not one to back down from a challenge, got ready for an attack "Your husband is the one who helped John Gilbert execute his idiot plan in the first place."

"Liz," the older Salvatore groaned.

"Someone got my husband killed," Carol hissed.

Damon stepped up next to me "We're all on edge here. You've suffered great loss. The whole town has. We have to stick together, okay? Trust each other, we'll get through this."

It was then that Carol glanced at the door and adopted an exasperated expression "Excuse me, please."

Damon followed her with his eyes and raised an eyebrow at the newly arrived man "Who is he?" he whispered into my ear. Sheriff Forbes had excused herself as well, so it was only the two of us at the moment.

"That's Mason Lockwood. Mayor Lockwood's younger brother," I told him. I knew Mason from when I was younger. He had always been more fun and carefree than all the others. Kind of like Aunt Jenna. No wonder they were friends once.

"Is he on the council? Do you know?"

I shook my head "I don't think so. He wanted nothing to do with the council or anything other than finding the perfect wave. That's why he moved to Florida, I guess."

"Hm," Damon hummed "Do you think he knows why Mayor Lockwood died?"

"My guess is that if Mayor Lockwood was affected then he would have been as well. I mean, Tyler was affected, so the obvious conclusion is that it is family related. Since Carol didn't react… It's either only men or it's on the mayor's side of the family."

The vampire looked down at me "And that's the most obvious conclusion?"

I shrugged "If it's wrong… nobody's perfect but I don't think that it is."

"Did you know the Gilbert device affected Tyler Lockwood?" Bonnie bitched from behind us.

Damon raised an eyebrow "Well, I know it took the mayor down."

"Don't you want to know why?" the witch demanded.

The vampire next to me sighed "Yes Bonnie, I would love to know why a non-vampire was tortured by the vampire torture device that you let John Gilbert use against the tomb vampires. Speaking of your guilt, how's Caroline?"

I look from one to the other "And that's my cue to leave. I'll see you around, Damon." The only reason I walked away was because Bonnie was blaming Damon for something that really wasn't his fault. I thought that since Sheila was alive, she would at least teach Bonnie not to be this prejudiced but apparently I was wrong.

"Angel Gilbert, right?" a voice asked from next to me.

"Hey, Mason," I smiled at the older man "How is Florida?"

He shrugged "Oh, you know. Lots of surfing and lots of women."

I snorted "Right. You live in Miami Beach, right? That would do it."

"You remember?" Mason stated in surprise.

"I remember something. Aunt Jenna ranted a bit when you moved away. You were her friend after all," I explained.

He let out a laugh "How's Jenna?"

"She's been better but at least she finally has a decent boyfriend… Or at least I think they're together."

"That's good," Mason smiled "You must be the only one who didn't say the generic 'I'm sorry for your loss'."

I glanced up at him and sighed "I remember how it was when my parents died. While I left the funeral early, I couldn't stand all the looks I got. I am sorry that your brother is dead but hearing it once is more than enough."

"Right you are," Mason nodded, letting his gaze wander over the room "By the way, I've been here for half an hour and my sister-in-law already sort of bragged about your talent."

"Why would she?" I frowned. I'm sure Carol had other things to worry about than to say anything about my painting. Speaking of which, it was hanging in a spot everyone could see it and I wasn't sure whether to be embarrassed or flattered.

Mason's lips quirked "I asked. My brother wasn't one to hang paintings everywhere. Especially in a place where everyone could see."

Before I could say anything else, my phone started vibrating in the small bag I had slung over one shoulder. The only reason I could feel it was because it was sitting directly against my bare leg "Sorry. I have to take that."

"It's fine," he waved off "I think I should go look for Tyler anyway."

"It was nice to talk to you, Mason," I smiled, waving to the mayor's younger brother "Hello?"

" _Hello, love._ "

My eyebrows shot up in surprise "Nik? Why are you calling me?"

" _Well, since you weren't feeling too great yesterday, I thought that I would take the opportunity to call,_ " he replied.

"Ah," I nodded "While it's not the best time to call, I don't mind. At least, it gives me a reason to escape from this nightmare. Give me a minute, alright?"

" _Sure. I'll wait._ "

I removed the phone from my ear and walked over to Carol "I'll be leaving now. Something came up. If you need anything, even if it's only to help with something, you can call me."

"Thank you, Angel. That's kind of you," the widowed Lockwood smiled, hugging me tightly "Tell that Uncle of yours that he might not want to meet me anytime soon."

"I'll tell him," I grinned "I really don't get how he always… Never mind. Goodbye, Carol."

"Bye."

"Alright," I murmured, lifting the phone back up "I'm back."

" _Who was that?_ " the vampire on the other end questioned curiously.

I closed my eyes, slipping out of the door, ignoring everyone "That was the mayor's wife. Her husband died yesterday."

" _Wait, he died and you fainted? Is there a connection?_ " Nik's accented voice inquired.

"Maybe," I hedged.

Nik snorted " _I really don't envy the drama that's going on around you._ "

"Would you be surprised if I said that it had nothing to do with me?" I asked "I only get caught in the crossfire."

" _Surprise, not really. Worried, kind of. Maybe I should hire you a bodyguard,"_  he joked " _Might stop you from getting kidnapped or injured all the time._ "

I groaned "Please don't. That would only raise questions I don't want to answer. And anyway, I was only kidnapped once, attacked once and passed out once as well. It's really not quite that bad."

" _Who are you trying to convince here, love? To me, a bodyguard sounds more than warranted. What happened with the kidnapping?_ "

"Hm? Oh, my aunt's ex-boyfriend turned vampire was pissed off at me and he might have shot me with some wooden bullets," I told him, trying to sound nonchalant. Not sure if it worked but the growl on the other end might suggest that Nik was seriously considering Logan's murder "He's dead. A friend of mine staked him."

" _You're seriously going to be the death of me,_ " Nik groaned lightly " _I think I'm going to have to kidnap you and lock you in a cage or something._ "

"Or something. I am no bird to be caged," I waxed poetically before I laughed "I can't believe I just said that."

" _Anyway, what are you doing later?_ "

I blinked "Er, nothing, I think. Oh, wait. I should probably study for my Maths exam… Nah, I can still do that… whenever. Why do you ask?"

" _Just asking,_ " he grinned " _I always want to know what you're doing._ "

"You're just your average control freak, aren't you?" I deadpanned, unlocking the front door to the house. Inside, I could already hear Uncle John talking to Jeremy and Anna.

There was smugness in Nik's voice now " _I'm anything but average, love. I thought you already knew that._ "

I rolled my eyes "Yes, Nik. Whatever you say, Nik."

"Nik?" Uncle John popped his head out of the door "You better not be talking to any boy, Angel."

"Are you kidding me?" I raised my eyebrow before I noticed all the bags in the entrance hallway "Wait, are you leaving?"

"I just…"

"I'll call you back," I murmured to Nik, hanging up without allowing him to say another word "So?"

John fidgeted "Angel, I'm sorry but I think it's better if I leave for a while. Especially now that Katherine is here."

"What is it with you and her anyway?" I questioned suspiciously.

"That's not… Please, Angel. Just let me go. I promise that I'll come back soon, alright?" He pulled me into a tight hug "I'm just a phone call away. Anything happens, you call me. Same goes for you, Jeremy."

Jeremy and I both sighed, knowing that nothing we say or do would change his opinion "Sure, Uncle John."

"You be careful, alright?" he murmured "And tell Elena goodbye from me." John kissed my head and clasped Jeremy's shoulder before walking over to his bags.

"Hey," I called out just before he left "Have you talked to Pearl?"

John frowned "Why?"

I shrugged "Just asking. I'm sure she would come with you if you asked."

"How can you be so sure?" he questioned.

"She appreciates what you did for us," Anna spoke up "I think you proved her wrong. She thought you would be just like your namesake but you're not."

John groaned "Are you playing matchmaker, Angel?"

I smirked "Of course. I didn't get to be there with Jenna, so you're my last hope." I walked into the kitchen to grab something to eat, aware that I hadn't eaten anything all day and it was past noon already.

"I'm not sure if that's a good thing," he mumbled under his breath.

"I heard that," I shouted over my shoulder.

John let out a laugh "Alright, alright. You won. Just one more thing. Who is Nik?"

I curse lowly "Crap. Here was I hoping, you'd forgotten."

"I don't forget. Especially not if my niece is talking with a boy I don't know," my uncle grinned.

"Fine," I huffed "Nik is someone I met and talked to a lot in New York. He's nice."

"Mm. I'm sure he is," John rolled his eyes "No dating. Since your father isn't here, I get to say that. Little late for Elena but at least one of you three gets the overprotective father-uncle thing."

"Hurray," I snarked "Stop, please… Just stop." Once he was gone, I turned to Anna "You know now?"

The vampire nodded "Yup."

"Are you going to hate me now?"

Anna rolled her eyes "Have you missed the part where I'm a vampire? I think that's a bit worse than having magic. Even if you're the female equivalent of Harry Potter."

I blinked "You took that better than I expected. Hey, Jay? Do you want to change still?"

"Oh, I'm not sure," my brother murmured "I mean, I want to be with Anna, so yeah. But maybe I'll wait another year or two."

"Sensible idea," I nodded "Don't let Elena or anyone tell you otherwise. It's your choice and yours alone."

Jay shrugged "That's why you're my favourite sister. You let me do what I want. Elena always bosses me around. It's always been that way…"

"She has her reasons, I guess. Not that I approve or understand but still… Listen, I'm gonna go upstairs. Jenna should be back soon," I told him "Try not to get in trouble while I'm holed up in my room, would you? As your older sister that would look bad on me." I whistled lowly, walking upstairs with Blue and Hero following behind. I just noticed that I was in a room full of people without Hero today. And I didn't panic. It felt good, actually.


	25. 2x02 Brave New World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you reading my other stories as well... I'm out of the country for the next two and a half weeks, so I might not update a lot in that time. I have three chapters written up for three of my stories and am working on another one. That might be the only stuff I'm going to post. Depending on how much time I have. The chapter I have I'm going to post now, so I'm not sure if you can expect anything for the mext weeks. Sorry.
> 
> Thank you for your Reviews. Glad you enjoyed it so far.
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Nick

I was sitting in the Lockwoods' living room along with Damon and Carol. Today was the day of the carnival or something and after a few periods, we were left to the preparations. Of course, me being who I was immediately escaped.

"So I understand John Gilbert left town," Carol said, looking at me for a moment "Have they found the vampire that attacked him?"

Damon shrugged "Well, the sheriff has asked me to take the lead on that and I promise you I will get to the bottom of it."

"Which brings me to my next subject," the newly widowed woman sighed "With Richard gone, I'll be acting as interim mayor until the elections and I'm going to need someone to spearhead out the council. I'd take that person to be you."

"Whatever you need, Carol," the vampire bowed his head "As a founding family member it's something that's very close to me, so I would be honoured to help keep this town safe from vampires. And since Angel is here, maybe we should discuss adding her to the council at least part-time."

I looked up in surprise "What?"

Damon put an arm around my shoulders "Well, with what happened with Vicki, Fell and the tomb vampires, I think you have earned a space there. Don't you agree, Carol?"

"I'm not sure," the older woman hesitated "She is only a child after all."

"I'm not a child," I disagreed "I might be younger but that doesn't mean that I don't know about the monsters that live in the world. If you don't want me to be on the Council, I won't." I stopped talking when I heard Mason and Tyler falling through the front door after exercising. Carol immediately stood up and closed the door of the living room.

"Is it safe to talk?" Damon tilted his head.

Carol sighed "It's my brother-in-law, Mason. He's still visiting. I just don't want him to hear us. He didn't want any part of the Council when he lived here and I see no reason to bring him into it now." Damon spaced out slightly, probably listening in on the conversation outside "More tea? Damon?"

"Oh, yes, please," the vampire startled "Thank you, Carol."

I shook my head "No thanks. If that was everything, I should probably…"

"No, wait," the older woman interrupted "There's something I need your help with. Richard had these notes on the device and his plan with your uncle. Could you do me a favour and look through them, see if you find anything of note?"

"What exactly would I be looking for?" I frowned.

She ran a hand through her hair "Anything about the vampires in the tomb and the town. I would do it myself but there's so much I have to do now… Additionally, it would keep you away from the carnival."

I laughed "You know what to say to me, don't you?"

"Maybe," she smiled "You know that you can't avoid all of the important days in this town? I won't let you, not now that you are one of the more renowned people in this town."

I groaned "Really? Oh well, as long as you're aware that I will still try. Where are the notes?"

"In the safe. I'll open it for you," she told me, getting up "I will be right back, Damon."

"Don't worry about it, Carol," the vampire waved off.

Mrs. Lockwood lead me to her late husband's office and opened the safe for me "I trust you, Angel. Please only look at the documents that I asked you to."

"I promise, Carol. I do have to look them over though, just to see whether they have anything to do with it," I told her worriedly.

"That's alright. As long as you're discreet about what you learn but I doubt you would tell anyone. That's why you're the candidate I chose," she smiled, patting my shoulder "I'll leave you now. Just close the safe once you're done and tell me if you find anything."

I nodded, kneeling down to shuffle through the papers, Hero laying down next to me. There was something weird, something felt… magical. Not the normal kind of magical either. I couldn't really sense Bonnie being a witch because they technically didn't have magic. They only channeled nature's power and used that to do their bidding. Once they enchanted someone or something though, I should be able to feel it. The same way I could sense vampires. As far as I knew they were created by nature magic and as such, they still had that spark of power in them… This was different though, more powerful. I swiped the papers to the side and picked up the oval white stone… Moonstone? Why would someone enchant a moonstone? I glanced around and slipped it into my pocket. Usually, I wouldn't steal it but it was obvious that it didn't belong in the Lockwoods' possession.

After that was taken care of, I turned my attention back to the papers, reading through them as quickly as I could. There weren't many of the actual vampires, just listing the ones that were known to the town by name and the ones they thought were roaming the streets. From what I could tell, most – if not all – of them were dead. All except for Katherine Pierce who hadn't been in the tomb at all. Judging by these notes, she compelled or bribed a guard to let her go. I made some notes of my own, leaving out the things about Katherine, just because I was sure Damon didn't want the Council to know about her.

It had taken me over an hour to get through this and just when I was finishing up, Mason entered the room. I closed the safe and stood up to face him "Hey Mason."

"Oh, Angel," he startled "I didn't know anyone would be in here."

I shrugged "Carol wanted me to check something since she was busy with the mayoral duties. I'm done now though. Sorry about this."

"No, no," he shook his head "Don't apologize."

"Anyway, I should look for Carol now. I'll see you around." I picked up my notes and waved, sliding through the gap in the door.

It didn't take me long to find the older woman and tell her about what I found. It wasn't good news but at it's something. The vampires that escaped from the tomb were either long gone or they were dead now. The most important thing was if there were any more vampires than the ones that were burned by Uncle John. Well, the most important thing for the Council in any case.

"Thank you for your help, Angel," Carol hugged me "I appreciate it."

"No problem," I told her politely, exiting the house with Hero at my heels.

A few hours later, despite my many protests, Damon dragged me to the carnival to spy on Mason. He was so sure that the Lockwoods weren't human and maybe they weren't. Whatever they were though, I couldn't sense it…

Anyway, I was standing with the older Salvatore, looking at Tyler arm wrestling a freshman from the football team.

"You're lurking," Stefan murmured, popping up behind us.

Damon barely reacted while I jumped a bit, Hero growling at the other guy "I'm observing."

"More like obsessing," his brother sighed.

"He's got strength," Damon pointed out after Tyler won.

Stefan rolled his eyes "He's a triple letter varsity athlete, of course, he has strength. You're reaching."

Mason arrived, challenging his nephew to a match "I bet I can take you."

"Enter the uncle," my vampire friend remarked gleefully.

"That's ridiculous," Stefan grumbled but stayed behind us anyway.

There was a bit of toying on Mason's part but a few minutes later, he beat Tyler easily. My classmate clapped "Okay, he's the champ, who wants to go next?"

Damon smirked "Stefan wants to go."

His younger brother glared at him but sighed in defeat "Yeah, sure, I'll… give it a shot." He walked up to join Mason at the table.

"Get him Stef!" Damon called out as they started arm wrestling, both puffing under hard pressure. A few minutes later, Mason beat him and Stefan walked back towards us in a daze. Damon hit his arms angrily "You didn't put in any effort at all."

I put an arm on the older brother's shoulder "Look at him," I admonished "It's obvious he did. What the hell are they?"

Damon blinked in surprise "Come with me." He pulled us both along and into the hallway "Is he…?"

"No, no," Stefan shook his head "It wasn't that kind of strength but it was more than Human if that makes any sense."

Damon hit the wall "What is up with that family? They're not vampires, what the hell are they?"

Stefan glanced at me in amusement and I shrugged "Oh, ah, maybe they're, um, ninja turtles." I snorted at that ridiculous idea. I remembered that show. Jay always watched it when we were younger and he forced me to join him more often than not.

"You're not funny," Damon glared.

"Or no," Stefan corrected "Zombies, werewolves."

I jerked slightly "Actually… Now that you mention it, werewolves are a possibility. It would fit. Why Mayor Lockwood reacted to the device, the strength, Tyler's anger issues."

"No comedic timing at all," the older vampire sighed, turning his head to see a carnival worker repairing something.

Stefan's grin fell "What? What are you up to?"

"This is reality and there's no such thing as werewolves or… combat turtles."

"Ninja Turtles," I corrected automatically "And if you're going to compel him, I'll leave. Best if I don't know anything. Hey, anyone know where my brother is?"

Damon barely looked at me "I saw him buy popcorn earlier but I don't know."

"Fine," I sighed "I'll find him. See you." I walked around the carnival looking for my brother who apparently was nowhere to be found. Great! I wanted to try and shield him against compulsion but maybe that was better to try around Anna. Then we could test it as well. If it worked, Jenna would be the next one I would shield.

"Hey, is everything okay?" I heard the guy from before, Carter or something, called out. I turned to see him approaching Caroline who was cowering away from him.

"I'm so sorry," the blonde mumbled.

Carter frowned "What?" Caroline rushed over behind him and bit him twice, throwing him back to drink his blood.

"Shit," I breathed, throwing out my magic to get her off of the guy. It worked, snapping her out of her bloodlust at the same time. Carter was still bleeding on the floor and I ran over, pressing my fingers to the wound on his neck. I could feel him slipping but there was nothing I could do. Magic could only heal those who were either nature witches or magicals. The magic couldn't really grip on Humans "Come on, don't do that…" Caroline came over to me, crying. She was about to say something when Damon arrived and I let go of Carter's neck "He's dead."

"I killed him," the blonde sobbed "What's wrong with me?"

Damon looked at me and I nodded "Hey, hey it's okay," he murmured, embracing her "I can help you."

"You can?" Caroline sniffed.

Damon nodded, pulling out a stake "Yeah, I have to."

"No," I told him "Don't. She can get used to this, Damon."

"I thought you didn't like her," he shot back "Why would you care if she survived?"

I shrugged "Because I have a heart. You know me, Damon. Please, just try to get her adjusted. I think we can all agree that if she continues to kill, there's something we have to do."

"Thank you, Angel," Caroline spoke up quietly "I really am sorry, you know?"

"I know," I smiled a bit "It doesn't change the fact that you treated me like shit but I have already forgiven you for it."

Damon looked up "Stefan," he exclaimed.

Caroline whimpered when she saw Elena "Get away from me! You killed me."

"No, no, no, no, Caroline," Elena shook her head "That wasn't me. You know that. That was Katherine."

"No," the blonde cried out "Then why did she look like you?! And why, why did she do this to me?"

Elena turned to her boyfriend "Stefan, we've got to get her inside."

"It's okay Caroline," Stefan soothed "Come with me. Angel, I think you should leave now."

I frowned "Why should I?"

"Because it's none of your business," my sister sneered "Caroline is my friend. Not yours, so leave."

I rolled my eyes at her "Okay, fine. I'm gone… Bye Damon… Again."


	26. With Klaus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the Reviews you left. Especially to the people who made it their mission to comment on every chapter... Thank you so much and sorry that it took me this long but I really didn't have any time at all when I was gone.

Klaus hung up the phone after another frustrating and heart attack inducing call with Angel. How one person could get into this much trouble, he'll never know. Even the Hybrid himself wasn't quite that bad.

The Original met the girl a while ago in New York and had to admit that she was something else. Not only were her paintings done brilliantly, she was also smart, funny and couldn't care less about his past. As much as he liked to be feared, Angel was a nice change.

"Maddox," Klaus called, waiting for his warlock friend to join him in the living room. There were only two witches along with several compelled humans in the mansion with him at the moment. Maddox along with a young witch called Greta. He didn't like her much but she was powerful and would be useful, especially since he heard that after she came to him, her father made a deal with his older brother, Elijah. The Hybrid always had a witch around in case he suddenly found another Doppelgänger. Katerina had escaped him about five hundred years ago and since she came about five hundred years after Tatia, it would make sense that there was going to be another Petrova around soon.

"Klaus?" the warlock questioned, entering the room.

The vampire Hybrid gestured for the other man to take a seat. He really enjoyed the warlock's company. Maddox never yearned for his attention and said exactly what he thought. Compared to most people, that was really refreshing "I need you to do something for me." When Maddox nodded, Klaus continued "I want you to go to Mystic Falls and… There's someone there who is very important to me. I need you to look after them."

The warlock tilted his head "Your mystery girl?"

"How do you know?" the Original narrowed his eyes, glaring at his friend. Yes, he had friends. They were few and far in between but he did occasionally enjoy the company of some people.

"Greta," the warlock smirked "She loves to bitch about the fact that you're hung up on someone else."

"I'm not hung up on her," Klaus protested, ignoring the rest of the statement for now. He would have to deal with Greta later. That girl had no sense of privacy and her little crush on him was getting annoying.

Maddox nodded sarcastically "Keep telling yourself that."

"Hey," Klaus snorted "Less cheek out of you."

"Sorry, old man," the warlock laughed, ducking the cushion that was sailing towards his head.

The Original rolled his eyes "You're way too comfortable with me."

"What can I say?" Maddox shrugged and leaned forward curiously "So, about that girl."

"Angel," Klaus interrupted "Her name is Angel Gilbert."

"You really do like her, don't you?"

Klaus sighed and ran a hand through his hair "There's something about her that just draws me in. Angel… She never cared about my past and she doesn't care that I'm a vampire."

Maddox nodded "Then I'm honoured that you trust me enough to look after her. She sounds like a nice girl."

"She really is," the Hybrid smiled "And a real trouble magnet. I don't think that I was this close to having a heart attack or several…"

"She's keeping you on your toes and you're not even together," Maddox snorted "I approve."

Klaus mumbled something unflattering under his breath but smiled at the warlock's words. It was good that he could count on him to look after Angel for a while. At least until Klaus himself could move to Mystic Falls and there was no 'maybe' about it. He would definitely go there as soon as his business allowed it.


	27. 2x04 Memory Lane

I was standing in the kitchen, helping Aunt Jenna prepare for the barbecue. While she promised Alaric to try and cook, I didn't let her near the stove. Not after what happened last time… Never again.

"Thanks for letting me invite Caroline," Elena murmured "She could use a day of distraction."

Jenna shrugged "Well, she's not the plus one I'm worried about. Why is Damon coming?"

"Hey, Damon's my friend," I poked her "What's up with you all of a sudden? You never had anything against him before."

"Fine, fine," she huffed and looked down at me "Don't look at me like that."

I grinned and ducked to get to my sketchbook when Mason arrived, holding up a bottle of liquor and glasses "Good news! I found the shot glasses."

Elena grimaced "That would be my exit."

"You're here for ten minutes and I'm already back under the bleachers at the pep rally," Jenna complained jokingly.

My head snapped up "Blackmail?"

"Shush," my aunt waved her hand, ignoring Mason's laughter at our antics.

"Like old times, huh?" the Lockwood waggled his eyebrows "Only I didn't swipe this bottle from my old man."

It was then that Alaric arrived, eyes immediately honing in on the alcohol "Oh, the expensive stuff. I like you already."

Mason shrugged "Just happy to be invited."

"Thank Ric," Jenna smiled, leaning into my History teacher's side "It was his idea."

"Really?"

Alaric grinned "Yeah, you know, I thought it would be nice to meet some of Jenna's High School friends. Dig up a little dirt." He fist bumped me when I gave him thumbs up.

"I've got dirt," Mason agreed "I've got dirt."

Aunt Jenna filled up her glass "I have no secrets. Only dirty shame."

They all raised their glasses and clinked them together "To dirty shame," Alaric voiced.

Arms wrapped around my shoulders from behind and I jumped "Hey," Damon greeted "What were we talking about, princess? You gotta be more aware of your surroundings."

"In my own home?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Everywhere," the vampire pointed out "You were the one who wanted me to teach you self-defense."

I sighed and dropped my head back onto his chest "I know. Sorry, Damon."

"So… What have I missed?"

Alaric rolled his eyes at his friend "We were just doing shots. Let me give you a shot glass, buddy." He turned around to go to the kitchen but Jenna stopped him.

"Here," she grunted "Use mine. I shouldn't be drinking in front of the children anyway." With those words, Jenna threw a smirk at me.

"Hey," I pouted "I'm not a child. Not technically." She glanced pointedly at Damon's arms and then left the room to check on the food with Ric following.

Mason looked at Damon as he poured himself a glass "We haven't met. Mason Lockwood."

"Oh, sure," the vampire smiled tightly "Damon Salvatore."

"I know," Mason admitted "I heard great things about you."

Damon blinked "Really? That's weird. I'm a dick!"

"A loveable dick," I threw in with a snort.

About an hour after we ate, the others started playing Pictionary which I got disqualified from when my sketch looked so good that even Aunt Jenna could guess what it was. At the moment, it was Damon's turn to draw… Was that… A wolf? In a tutu?

"Dress! Ballerina!" Jenna shouted loudly, slightly tipsy.

Caroline tilted her head "Puppy! Puppy with a tutu."

"No, no," Damon shook his head.

"Dog," Jenna threw in "Hound-dog!"

Mason had watched the whole thing with a strange glint in his eyes "'Dances with the Wolves'"

Everyone stopped and stared at him incredulously "Mason wins… again."

"How is that a wolf?" Jenna complained when Elena got up to get the pie out of the kitchen, Damon going with her.

It didn't take long until Damon came back, setting the cake down on the table along with a cake knife made of Silver "Mason, why don't you start us off?" Silver, Damon? If he really suspects that Mason was a werewolf, why would he try using Silver?

"Sure," Mason shrugged, taking the pie with his hands. He looked up at us mock sheepishly "I apologize, I'm an animal."

There was an awkward pause where Damon and Mason had a stare off until Alaric cleared his throat "So Mason, you and Jenna never dated?"

"She was always lost in Logan Fell land," he answered. I froze, dropping the pencil I was holding. That was a person I hadn't thought about in a while and gladly forgot.

Jenna's gaze snapped to me but before she could move, Damon was there "You're fine, Angel. Everything's fine."

"Did I say something wrong?" Mason frowned, looking over at me with concern shining in his eyes.

I took a couple of deep breaths and shook my head "You didn't know," I told him quietly "It's fine… Logan Fell kidnapped me a while back."

"I knew he's an ass but why would he do that?" the suspected werewolf questioned.

"No idea," I lied, getting up from the table "I don't feel like pie. Excuse me." Instead of going to my room, I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and curled up on the counter by the window, pulling out my phone ' **Are you there?** ' I texted Nik. When I didn't get an answer, I put my phone down and stared out into the garden, ignoring the murmuring of the people in the living room.

' **Now I am. What's up?** ' Nik replied after fifteen minutes. Has it really been fifteen minutes already?

' **Nothing…** **Just needed to talk to someone.** ' A second after I sent it, my phone started vibrating "Hello?"

" _That sounds serious, love. Did something happen again?"_ Nik fired as soon as I finished speaking.

I choked out a small laugh "No, no. Just memories this time. An old friend of my aunt is here and he… Well, he mentioned the guy that kidnapped me. I should be over this already. And now I'm ranting," I sighed, trailing off.

" _Why would that friend mention… what was it?… Fell?"_

"Maybe because my aunt dated him when they were younger and again sometime before he turned," I explained.

Nik was silent for a moment before he exhaled " _I swear, there's nothing normal about you or that family of yours._ "

I snorted out a laugh "I don't think that you can talk. You're a vampire who is older than dirt."

" _Now, that's not a nice thing to say,"_ Nik teased " _That remark really hurt._ "

"If you say so," I mocked "Thank you… By the way. I never said it but talking with you… It's…"

"Who are you talking to Angel?" Damon questioned, leaning against the doorway of the kitchen "If it's that guy again…"

I groaned "I have to go. Talk to you soon?"

" _I'll hold you to it,_ " Nik murmured " _You still owe me that sentence._ "

"I do," I nodded "Bye." After I hung up the phone I glared at the vampire invading my kitchen "Are you serious?"

Damon smirked, walking over to lean against the counter next to me "No, I'm Damon."

"Jenna just brought out 'Guitar Hero'," Mason exclaimed, slipping into the kitchen, looking as if something – or someone – scared the crap out of him. Not that I could blame him. Aunt Jenna was scary when she put her mind to something "Might be time to mutiny."

"Well, I just happen to like 'Guitar Hero'," Damon pointed out "So you, my friend, are barking up the wrong tree."

Mason groaned "Okay. Enough with the innuendos, you win, you're hilarious."

"Thank you," the vampire preened.

The werewolf sighed "Come on, man. You don't think I know what this barbecue is about?"

"How do you know about me?" Damon demanded "Your brother was completely clueless."

"it doesn't matter," Mason waved off "I'm not your enemy, Damon."

The vampire took a step forward and I slid from my perch to hold him back "You tried to kill my brother."

"Damon," I snapped, pulling at his arm "Werewolves can't control themselves once they turn. Stefan just happened to be the very unfortunate vampire to be near him."

Both men turned towards me with equal expressions of confusion "How…?"

I raised a shoulder in a half-shrug "Maybe I'll tell you someday. Just… Think about this, Damon. Also… Silver doesn't work."

"What?" the vampire gaped, looking from me to Mason, willing him to contradict me.

The Lockwood's lips twitched "I'm pretty sure that it was a werewolf who started the whole thing. She's right."

Damon buried his hands in his hair "That means stabbing you in the heart with silverware would be stupid?"

"Pretty much so," the werewolf nodded.

I patted my friend's shoulder, trying very hard not to laugh "There, there. It's not the end of the world. You can't kill everyone, Damon."

"I don't plan on staying here for long anyway," Mason threw in "Well, I wasn't before. Maybe I should stick around and see how this whole drama pans out."

Damon raised his head "And you expect me to believe that you're in Mystic Falls planting peach trees?"

"I lost my brother," Mason bit out "My nephew lost his father. I'm here for my family. Let's be above that." He held his hand out.

The vampire closed his eyes for a moment before he nodded "Fine." He took the offered hand, shaking it "But you better not be involved in any nefarious plans."

"No plans," the werewolf promised with an almost unnoticeable edge to his voice. There was something he was hiding… Should I…? No, he was a friend of Aunt Jenna's. There's no way I would try to read his mind without having some sort of proof that he was up to something.

I clapped my hands "Well, now that you talked this out, I'm gonna go." I hugged Damon and waved at Mason in parting, slipping up the stairs to my room.


	28. 2x05 Kill or Be Killed

"I can't believe Tyler Lockwood is a werewolf," Jeremy muttered, leaning against the door to the bathroom. I was standing in front of the mirror, trying to tame my hair with Elena next to me. We're rarely this peaceful when we're all together but I didn't really care anymore.

"We're not sure about that," Elena pointed out "The only thing we know for sure is that Mason Lockwood is."

I rolled my eyes at both of them "Tyler's not a werewolf. Not yet at least. He has to trigger the curse."

"What?"

"There are two different kinds of werewolves. The ones from the stories where the curse is transferred through a bite and then there's this kind. It is passed from parent to child. Of course, it's dormant at first but once you trigger it?" I explained, finally fixing my hair into the ponytail I wanted. Sometimes, I really cursed my hair. It was a beautiful shade of red and if I wore it open it was fine but trying to do anything with it? It required a lot of patience.

Elena raised an eyebrow at me "And you know that how?"

I shrugged "One of the Gilberts did some research. I read all of the journals we have in the house and have the ones from the boathouse as well. Trust me, there's a lot of them and one was specifically focussed on werewolves."

"Give it to me," my sister demanded, holding out her hand.

"Why would I?" I shot back lightly, throwing Jay a quick look. He nodded and walked back to his room, leaving me and Elena alone.

Elena shoved me back into the counter "Don't be a bitch. Mason Lockwood is dangerous. He needs to be put down."

"Mason Lockwood is a normal guy with a bit of a furry problem once a month. He's not evil, dangerous and he doesn't have to be 'out down'," I hissed "Are you even listening to yourself? You talk about killing a man we have known since we were little."

She smirked "We have known Logan Fell as well. You didn't seem to have a problem with him dying."

I gaped at her lightly "You know what? Bite me, Elena. I won't give you the journal and I sure as hell won't help you with this." With those words, I shoved past her and hurried down the stairs. Jenna had promised that I could take her car to help Carol with the preparations of the… wait for it… the Mystic Falls Historical Society Volunteer Day. If I didn't grow up here, I would be overwhelmed with all of the parties and what the town held each year. Blue jumped up as soon as I was at the door and with practiced hands, he was wearing his vest in no time "Let's go, big boy." I opened the front door and flinched in surprise when I ran into Stefan.

"Oh, hi," my sister's boyfriend smiled "I – I'm here for Elena?"

I nodded, stepping aside "She's almost done, I think. Just wait for her." Once he was inside, I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart and walked outside to Aunt Jenna's car.

It didn't take me long to reach the new park that was built from donations of the Fell family. When all of the stuff with Logan happened, they felt like they owed the town something or at least that's what I think "Hey, Carol, Mason," I greeted once I was close enough for them to hear.

"Angel," the mayor greeted, smiling at me "You're here to help?"

I nodded "I am. I won't stay for the actual party but I'll help you with the preparations."

Carol rolled her eyes "You really should get used to attending these things. After all, you're becoming more famous. I actually heard that some of the other Founding Families want to buy some of your paintings as well."

"Oh God," I groaned in teasingly "Have you been bragging?"

"Me?" she questioned with a mock insulted look "Never."

Mason snorted "Actually, the first thing she pointed out when I came back was the painting you did for them."

I laughed lightly "See? Mason's on my side." Then I closed my eyes for a moment "I'll come to the Masquerade alright? I wanted to call someone tonight." Nik didn't expect a phone call but we didn't really talk too often and I thought it would be a nice surprise. I also thought about visiting him during the next art show which was in two weeks. It coincided with my school holiday this time, so I could go to New York alone. Robert texted me yesterday, telling me about the next show and the fact that he'd love to have some more of my paintings.

"Oh?" Carol smiled curiously "A male someone perhaps?"

"Don't start," I mumbled, blushing a bit "John already did the protective parent thing and Damon likes to interrupt whenever I'm talking to him."

The two Lockwoods grinned "That's the joy of being a father or older brother, I think," Mason pointed out "Richard liked to do the exact same thing."

I rolled my eyes in response and was about to respond when Carol spoke again "Listen you two. I have to go and give a speech now. Angel, could you help Mason with the stuff he has in his car?"

"Sure," I nodded and followed the werewolf to his car "So… Did Damon leave you alone?"

Mason looked down at me "What?"

"After the barbecue. I know him well enough by now to know that he would have tried to kill you if I hadn't said anything about the silver thing being a myth," I told him, grabbing one of the lighter boxes.

"I didn't see him," the Lockwood shrugged "Thanks. For telling him, you know."

I shrugged "Maybe you'll actually leave Mystic Falls alive. If you're not up to something." There was it. The same thing I had noticed the day before. Mason was nervous and what I said triggered that reaction. For the… I didn't want to read his mind… But I don't think I have a choice now. Damon would kill me if he knew that I was suspicious and did nothing. The same reaction twice was enough to act on that suspicion, right? I waited until we had dropped off the boxes where they needed to go and were back at the car.

"Stefan, right?" Mason suddenly questioned, making me look at the younger Salvatore brother in surprise "The other Salvatore."

"The nicer one," Stefan nodded, glancing at me questioningly "The one offering an apology for whatever it is my brother did."

Mason tilted his head "What are you talking about?"

Damon's younger brother blinked "Wait, didn't Damon…?"

"No, actually," I told him "Damon didn't."

"Didn't what?" Mason turned to me in confusion "Oh, you mean the silver thing?" I just nodded, slipping into his mind with a burst of magic. I noticed that you only needed eye contact for the initial penetration. After that… If you didn't have to use a wand, you're pretty much free to do whatever you want in the person's mind.

Bingo! There was a memory… No, more than one memory… Oh, gross, Mason. I didn't need to see that. Katherine. The same Katherine who stabbed Uncle John. The Katherine I still had a score to settle with. Nobody harms people I love and gets away with it. Not even a vampire who looks like my sister. Wait… Is that the same moonstone I found in the safe? Well, at least I didn't have to worry about that part. I slipped out of the man's mind and blinked a couple of times, noticing that Stefan and Mason were shaking hands right now "Mason, I need to talk to Stefan real quick. Can you carry the last two by yourself?"

The Lockwood blinked "Yeah, sure. Thanks for the help."

I waved him off as he grabbed both of the leftover boxes, leaving me along with Stefan. As soon as he was out of earshot Damon appeared behind his brother "What are you doing?" he hissed at Stefan.

"Well, I wanted to negotiate peace on your behalf but apparently you didn't even go after Mason?" the younger of the two pointed out.

"Yeah, well," Damon shrugged "I decided against it. And did you seriously believe that a handshake just solves everything?"

Stefan rolled his eyes "No, actually. That was only after I found out that he holds no grudge against you. I'm going to find Elena now…" He left, completely ignoring or forgetting that I was still there.

"I know why Mason is back in town," I told the vampire with an air of smugness.

Damon frowned "What? How?" Then his face cleared up and he let out a silent 'Oh' "Your freaky Edward Cullen mind thing-y?"

"It's not freaky," I pouted "But yes… My Edward Cullen mind thing-y. He knows Katherine. She wants him to find a moonstone that is supposed to be in the Lockwood family's possession."

"Why does she want the stone?" Damon questioned.

I shrugged "Not too sure but it might have something to do with the fact that the thing is stacked with magic."

The vampire came closer "And you would know that how?"

"There might have been this curious little stone I found in Mr. Lockwood's safe when Carol asked me to look through the paperwork," I grinned sheepishly.

"And you took it?" he wanted to know.

I sighed "It was full of magic. Of course, I took it."

"What's so interesting about the magic part?" Damon tilted his head.

"I'll tell you later… When there aren't this many people around, okay?" I pleaded. Damon was a good friend and he saved me quite a few times already, so it was only fair to tell him about who I was and what I am.

Damon ran a hand through his hair "Fine. Boarding House after the party… Speaking of party. Are you staying?"

I shook my head "I'm only here to help a bit."

"Alright. Then go to the Boarding House after you're done. There is a something for you on my desk. I've been meaning to give it to you but… it never came up," the vampire told me.

"What is it?"

Damon smirked "You'll have to wait and see but you can't give it back, by the way. It's yours."

I threw myself at him, wrapping my arms around his waist "Thanks, Damon. Even though that warning makes me think what you got me is freakishly expensive."

"No problem," he smiled "Now, off you go."

I grinned at him one last time before I walked back towards the other helpers. It didn't take me long to finish at all, so I arrived at the Boarding House about an hour and a half later. I immediately ran for Damon's room, looking for the stuff he mentioned. There was a box on the vampire's desk that said 'Angel' on top of it. I opened it and gaped "Jesus Christ, Damon," I muttered to myself, looking at all the stuff that was in there "That must have cost a fortune." And it probably did. It was mostly drawing supplies in that box along with three sketchbooks, a sketchpad, a sketchpad specifically for watercolour painting and some acrylic paints with a new brush set. Each and every item was the best of the best… Things I can now buy myself. I always had to get the cheaper – but still good – variety of things. Now money didn't matter for a while. I doubted that I'd go crazy with my spendings now… Especially since Damon bought me enough to last months. I grabbed the box and took it with me down to the living room.

Since it didn't look like Damon would come anytime soon, I selected the normal sketchpad and a set of graphite pencils. If there was one pet peeve I had it was starting a new sketchbook when I didn't finish the last one, so sketchpad it was. Hmm… What could I draw? Since I always told myself to improve my portrait drawings, maybe I could try and draw Damon? As a thank you. Only if it turned out alright though… I was pretty much done with the portrait when I heard the front door open. My gaze turned to the clock and I blinked. It's been four hours already? Huh… Time really does fly.

"Come on," Damon's voice murmured "This way."

I frowned and got up from my position on the couch. Once I was in the doorway, I could see the vampire herding Sheriff Forbes down to the basement "Damon?" He looked over his shoulder and gestured for me to join them "What happened?" I questioned.

"Mason happened," Damon hissed "He put vervain into the lemonade."

I tilted my head "Mason? Are you… Of course… Katherine…"

"That's what I was thinking," the vampire nodded "In any case, we have to wait until the vervain is out of Liz's system. Caroline revealed herself."

"Angel?" Sheriff Forbes mumbled "You knew as well?"

I sat down next to the woman "I knew from the beginning," I told her quietly "But Damon and Stefan aren't 'evil'. Caroline isn't either. Not like Fell."

"How do you know?" she demanded "These animal attacks…"

"So what? They are still vampires," I cut in "Vampires need blood to survive just as we need food and water. Yes, some are killers but tell me one thing. How many humans kill daily?"

Liz looked overwhelmed with the whole thing "I –"

"How about you think about it for a while?" I suggested, nodding to Damon "Talk to your daughter. I'll be upstairs if you need anything." As soon as I was upstairs, Elena just opened the door to let Caroline into the house with a huge suitcase in tow.

"Hey," she greeted quietly "Sorry that took forever. I just didn't know how long my mom was gonna be here."

My sister glanced over her shoulder at me for a moment before she turned back to Caroline "Damon says it'll take three days tops for the vervain to leave her system. Maybe even sooner."

Stefan came down the stairs and wrapped his arms around Elena's waist "You get some bunny in you?" Caroline questioned the older vampire.

"Yeah," Stefan nodded "I'm feeling much better, thank you."

I stepped to the side, going back to the living room to clean up my stuff when the other three went downstairs to Sheriff Forbes and Damon.

"Angel," Caroline called from the doorway. She looked miserable and I really felt sorry for her. It wasn't a good feeling to have your family hate you for what you were.

"Are you alright?" I questioned softly, placing the sketchpad on the couch table.

Caroline let out a small sob and threw herself at me. It took me a second to respond but I wrapped my arms around the blonde. Normally, I wouldn't try and comfort someone but her situation was so similar to what I experienced at the hands of the Dursleys. Sort of anyway. The Sheriff still loved her daughter but she hated vampires. In time, Liz will accept what Caroline is. The Dursleys didn't "She hates me."

"She doesn't hate you, Caroline," I shushed her "She only needs time to accept that you're a vampire now."

Caroline shook her head "But she doesn't want to accept it."

"Give it time. She's your mother and she loves you. Your new found love for blood isn't going to change that," I explained and looked at Elena pleadingly. This was so much harder than I thought…

My sister gave me an amused smile before she cleared her throat "Can I take you home?" The newborn vampire let go of me and turned her attention to my sister.

"If anyone needs me, I'll in Damon's room," I mumbled, practically running past them with Hero at my heels. The dog had napped for most of the time I was drawing. Once upstairs, I curled up on one side of the vampire's bed and petted Hero over the edge of the mattress. I slowly drifted off to sleep, clutching the blanket in my left hand while the other one was resting on my dog's head.

"Angel," a quiet voice ripped me out of my sleep. I whined lightly, earning a chuckle from who I recognized as Damon now "You can go back to sleep later."

"Fine," I grumbled, sitting up "What do you want?"

Damon smirked at my disgruntled look and threw himself down next to me "So, what did you want to tell me?"

I quickly silenced the room and bit my lip "You have to promise me to keep an open mind. It's a bit… crazy."

"Of course," the vampire nodded seriously, catching onto my nervousness "You're my best friend, Angel. I won't go running for the hills."

"Okay," I swallowed "Here goes. When I was eight… I appeared over there." I pointed out of the window that had a good view over the space I was dropped off in "Now, I was in a graveyard before that. Battling Lord Voldemort. My birth name is Angel Potter."

Damon blinked at me "As in Harry Potter?"

I nodded "I read the books. They are pretty similar to what I went through. The reason why I'm able to read minds is because I'm a witch."

"But you're not like judgy," the vampire hummed "This is weird and definitely freaky but I believe you."

"You do?" I gaped "Why?"

Damon shrugged "I just said so. You're my friend and I doubt you'd lie about something as crazy as this." I threw myself at him for the second time that day and muttered 'Thank you' all over "You don't have to thank me. Will you tell me about your life?"

"If you really want to know," I murmured "But not today. I want to go to sleep now. Oh, before I forget…" I got up, pulling him along behind me to the box I left in the living room "Here." I handed him the portrait with a nervous smile "This stuff is amazing, Damon. Thank you… I don't want to know how much money you spent though."

He held up his hands in surrender "I won't tell you then. This is really good. You drew this from memory?"

I nodded "Yeah. Most of my stuff is from memory but people are more difficult." I quickly packed the box and clipped on Hero's leash "Thank you again. For everything." Before I left, I pressed a short, sisterly kiss to Damon's cheek "Goodnight."

"Night," the vampire smiled and opened the front door for me.

* * *

**Omake**

It was around noon when Maddox arrived in Mystic Falls. He wasn't sure what to think about this task he got from Klaus. Not that the warlock minded either… It was just the fact that he was supposed to protect a girl he only knew from a picture. What would she be like? He got a room in a little Boarding House that was at the edge of town.

"Excuse me, sir," Mrs. Flowers, a kind older lady got his attention when Maddox was about to go out.

"Yes?"

The older woman smiled "There is a little festival going on in the public park. I thought you might like the idea of getting to know people in town."

Maddox blinked "Thank you. How do I reach the park?" Maybe he would be able to see Angel there. From what Klaus told him, he doubted it though. The girl his friend described wasn't the type to go to any type of festivities. Once he had the directions, he decided to walk into town, instead of taking his car.

An hour later, the warlock was bored out of his mind. He had a bite to eat and was just about to get himself some lemonade when he saw her. It wasn't Angel, sadly but it was definitely something Klaus would be interested in. The Doppelgänger. Whether this was Katerina or not, he didn't know yet but one way or another he had to tell the Original. Maddox snapped a couple of pictures, some showing her with a boy and others with a blonde girl. He quickly sent them to the vampire in an e-mail and leaned back. Now there was even more to do here. This could actually get interesting…

"Hello?" he answered his phone when it started ringing.

"How…? You…?" the Hybrid huffed "You must be one of the luckiest bastards in the entire world."

Maddox snorted "Hello to you too, Klaus. I see you got the pictures."

The Original hummed "Have you seen Angel yet?"

"No," the warlock denied "She isn't at this… party. Listen, I'm not sure if that is Katerina or not but I'll keep you updated."

"That's fine," Klaus replied "I'll prepare for the possibility of it being a human Doppelgänger. Keep a lookout for Angel."

Maddox rolled his eyes at the over-protectiveness "If you're behaving like this now, how will you act once you and she get together?"

"I don't know what you mean," the vampire shot back "I need to go now."

"Alright. I'll get you an update soon," he promised, hanging up the phone. Yes, maybe this was going to be interesting. The more often he talked to the Original about Angel, the more curious he got. Who was the person who could bring out this side in the Hybrid? What made him like her that much? He would have to find out.


	29. 2x06 Plan B

"Are you going to the Boarding House?" Jeremy questioned, coming into my room the day before the Masquerade Ball. I had been awake for a few hours already… It was all Elena's fault. Well, hers and Stefan's. They were way too loud and I once I put up a Silencing Spell, I wasn't able to go back to sleep, so I started painting. I had to finish some things anyway. The new batch of paintings had to be in New York by next week, so I still had a few days to finish the ideas I had.

I looked over at my brother with a raised eyebrow "Yeah, why?"

"Because I want to help," Jay said, flopping down on my bed "Plus, I'm kind of bored without Anna here."

"When is she coming back?" I asked, putting down the brush I was holding.

Jeremy shrugged "No idea. She's with her mom and Uncle John. I doubt he will stay away for too long."

"True," I snorted "As long as he gets off my case concerning Nik, I don't necessarily care if he comes back."

"Who is he anyway?" Jay smirked "I don't believe that he's 'just someone you met'."

I hit him over the back of the head "Hey. I did actually meet him in New York. We got along, texted and spoke occasionally."

"And now you're going back to him," my younger brother pointed out "You're staying with him next week, aren't you?"

I shrugged "Probably. Beats getting a hotel."

"Just… answer me one thing," he murmured, looking up at me seriously "Do you like him?"

"I – I… I think so," I murmured "I mean, I like him and he is someone I feel comfortable with. It's just… I've never really been in a relationship before."

Jeremy hummed "I keep forgetting that you're technically older than sixteen. At least you have someone who you feel comfortable with… There's no boy in this town who I would like to see you with. They are too…"

"I get it," I interrupted "Really, I do. Thanks, Jay. I love you, brother." I wrapped my arms around him and snuggled into his side. The lack of sleep was catching up on me but I fought to stay awake nevertheless.

A knock on the door heralded the arrival of Aunt Jenna "Hey, you two. Anyone up to helping with the preparations of the Masquerade?"

I raised an eyebrow at her "Hey, I'll be at the stupid thing."

"True enough," Aunt Jenna shrugged before looking at my baby brother "I won't even bother asking you. Oh, how did you sleep anyway?"

"Not good," I grumbled.

Jeremy frowned and looked from our aunt to me "Why? What happened?"

I snorted "I forgot that you sleep with headphones… Elena and Stefan kept me up. Trust me… They were loud."

"They stopped after a while," Jenna pointed out.

"Only because I used magicked Elena's room silent," I spoke up "Couldn't sleep after that though."

Jenna smirked at me and studied the painting on the easel "That looks good. For the Art show?"

"You know it," I nodded "Shouldn't you go now?"

"Dammit," our aunt cursed "How are you so good at this?" She whirled around, leaving Jeremy and me laughing on my bed. It's so typical for Aunt Jenna to forget the time.

My brother and I slowly calmed down and after a few moments of silence, Jay smiled "I love you too, Tiny. Now, enough mushiness. Let's get going."

"Fine, fine," I huffed, rising from the bed slowly "I just have to… You know what?" I waved my hand, cleaning the paint away with magic and cleaned the brushed at the same time "Done. Let's go."

Jay whistled "I'll never get used to that…"

Half an hour later, Jeremy and I walked into the Boarding House with Alaric "Ric," Damon greeted with a small smile "Jeremy. Angel."

I walked over and hugged the vampire tightly "How's Liz doing?"

"Not too good," the vampire sighed "She still won't talk to Caroline."

"Doesn't surprise me. She's not known to be… Never mind." I shook my head, sitting down on one of the couches.

Damon hummed, digging through the box Alaric had set down on the coffee table "What you got?"

"This is Isobel's research from Duke," the History teacher pointed out "Her assistant sent it to me."

"Hmm," the older Salvatore brother grunted, leafing through a book "Vanessa. The hottie."

Alaric snatched the book from Damon's hands "Vanessa, yes. Now, do you remember the old Aztec curse she told us about?"

"Sun and the moon, blah blah blah," the vampire rolled his eyes in annoyance.

I lifted my head and exchanged an intrigued glance with my younger brother "An Aztec curse?"

"Yeah," Alaric nodded "Supposedly vampires and werewolves used to roam freely until a shaman put a curse on them to limit their power. Since then, werewolves can only turn on a full moon and vampires are weakened by the sun."

Damon wiggled his fingers, showing off his daylight ring "Most of them, anyway."

"According to the legend, the werewolf part of the curse is sealed with the moonstone," Alaric continued, handing over a map. I looked over my brother's shoulder at the drawings that were showing the story of the Sun and the Moon curse.

"What a load of shit," I mumbled. I pulled the moonstone from my pocket and held it into the light "This little thing does bind something. A curse if I'm right but… What you're saying. The scroll. It makes no sense at all."

Damon frowned at me "Why?"

"Because it doesn't," I gestured "Why would there be the possibility of a daylight ring? Werewolves and vampire have been enemies for ages. It would be a pretty smart move to… Oh!" I straightened up, looking at the others "Whatever curse is on the stone… The people who want to break it possibly drew these things. Think about it. If you want to get your hands on a moonstone and a Doppelgänger then what better way to have two whole species on the lookout?"

Alaric blinked at me "Where did you get all that logical thinking from?"

I shrugged "No idea. But it makes sense, right?"

"Yeah," Damon nodded "Hey since this mentions werewolf bites. Do you know anything about that?"

"Nothing specific," I murmured "The venom shouldn't harm humans but a vampire is a different story. If this says that werewolf bite is fatal to a vampire then I would believe it."

Damon drained the last of his drink and closed the book tightly "Well, let's go and tell the others."

"You go ahead," I waved "I don't feel like being judged today. I'll go and finish some things and then I'll be at the Grill."

Jeremy drew me into a quick hug "I'll join you later, sis."

I ruffled his hair "Sure. I'll see you, guys."


	30. 2x07 Masquerade

I was at the Grill when I once again saw the dark haired man that I had seen over the last few days. There was something weird going on here and I didn't like it. Damon might think that I'm oblivious to anything going on around me but most of it is acting now. I was more than aware of who was following me when.

Since the guy was apparently lost in thoughts at the moment, I stalked to the table he was at and threw my books down in front of him "Okay. Why are you following me?"

"What?" the guy blinked, staring up at me in surprise.

I rolled my eyes and flopped down into the chair opposite of him "Don't give me that. I'm not oblivious. I just choose to ignore things that are not an immediate danger to me or people I love. Who are you and why are you following me?"

"I'm Maddox," the guy murmured, still staring at me in shock.

"Nice to meet you," I nodded, pulling my books back towards me. One step at a time, Angel. I think I just shocked that guy a bit too much… Probably didn't expect me to confront him or even notice the fact that he was following me around "And you are here…?"

Maddox blinked again before he relaxed with a small snort "I can see why he likes you."

"He?" I demanded.

"Nik," the guy replied, hesitating slightly on the name "I was asked to look after you by Nik."

I let out a laugh "Ah. Have I finally given him enough heart attacks with my involuntary stunts? Sorry, you're stuck with babysitting duty."

Maddox nodded "Apparently. But I don't mind. I actually wanted to meet the girl who can get under the boss's skin. I've never seen him the way he's when he talks to or about you."

"Is that good?" I questioned quietly, unsure. While I was pretty sure that Nik liked me, I wasn't too sure whether he actually wanted me. No one had before. My… issues had always scared them off before.

"That's awesome and from what I have seen, I understand where he's coming from," Maddox pointed out.

I shot him a small smile "There's an easier way to find out about me. I'm Angel Gilbert," I introduced myself, holding out my hand for him to shake.

He grabbed it with a small grin "Maddox."

Just when he was about to say anything else, I saw the person I had been looking for. Katherine was coming out of the girl's bathroom, looking like a cat that caught the canary. I wrote down my phone number on a napkin and threw him a quick smile "Excuse me. There's someone I have to talk about. It was nice to meet you though. If there's anything you or Nik want to know just ask." I got up from the chair and quickly grabbed my books, walking after the vampire "Katherine."

"Oh, hey. Angel, right?" she asked, stopping in the parking lot.

"Yes, Angel," I nodded and glared at her lightly "Listen. I don't care who you are or what you're trying but please leave my family out of it."

Katherine raised an eyebrow "I can't leave Elena out of it," she pointed out "She's literally the epicenter of everything."

"I'm not talking about Elena," I rolled my eyes "I want you to stay away from Jenna, Jeremy and John."

"And what are you going to do if I don't? If I recall your Aunt was pretty easy to compel."

I hissed, my eyes flashing "Bad idea, Katherine." My magic reached out and wrapped around her like a cocoon, causing her quite a bit of pain "I'm asking you nicely. Please leave my family and maybe Damon out of your shit and I won't be a problem either."

"What are you?" the vampire gasped, falling to the floor with a grimace.

I smirked "Wouldn't you like to know?" I walked past her, sending another wave of pain before walking away without another glance back. My magic kept the vampire down until I was out of sight.

I reached the house at the same time as Matt, Jeremy and Elena got back with Aunt Jenna in tow "Easy. Grab the door, Jer."

"I got it," I called, holding the front door open for them to pass "How are you, Aunt Jenna?"

The older woman rolled her eyes "Hey, stop fussing. I'm fine."

"Nope," I grinned "That's payback for being as much of a mother hen as you are."

"Be quiet, you," she complained.

Elena rolled her eyes "The doctors said that you have to take it easy."

"Careful," Jay murmured as he helped Matt in putting the injured woman down on the couch.

"What should I do with this?" Matt questioned, holing up the bag of food.

My sister sighed "I got it." She grabbed the bag, heading towards the kitchen. I exchanged a glance with Jenna before following her with Jeremy.

"So," my brother spoke up "What are we gonna do?"

"Make lunch," Elena replied.

He rolled his eyes "No, about Katherine."

"We're not gonna do anything, Jeremy," she snapped, whirling around to face him furiously.

I stepped between them "Calm down. Fighting won't help. As for Katherine… I hope she learned her lesson after running into me earlier."

"What did you do?" my brother asked eagerly.

I shrugged with a mysterious smile "Maybe I'll tell you later."

"What did you do, Angel," Elena hissed, eyes flashing "If anyone else gets hurt because of you… Katherine only hurt Jenna because I didn't do what she said. I'm not doing it now, me and Stefan are over. She wins, the end."

Jeremy rolled his eyes "You're being naive and you know it. Come on, Angel."

I grimaced lightly "Sorry, Jay. I still have to pack for tomorrow and then get ready for the Masquerade."

"So you're going?" he questioned.

"I promised Carol," I shrugged "Here. Take Aunt Jenna's car. Gets you there faster."

"Where are you going?" Elena called after our brother.

Jeremy stopped at the front door for a moment "Out."

As soon as he was gone, I joined Aunt Jenna in the living room, kneeling down in front of her. The guilt I had been feeling came crashing down on me all at once "I'm so sorry, Aunt Jenna."

"What are you talking about?"

Last night I finally got around to putting the spell on Aunt Jenna. Sadly it was already too late. Sometimes I felt like the biggest failure… If I couldn't even protect my family then what good was I? "I… I got the spell to stop someone from being compelled right a while ago but I forgot and now you're hurt. I'm sorry…"

She grabbed my hand in hers and waited until I was looking her in the eyes "Angel. I'm not angry at you. You don't have to take care of me, you know. I'm a grown-up."

"But you still got hurt," I pointed out.

Jenna grinned a bit "That's human life. Now, go pack. I'll be fine with Elena and Ric is coming over later as well." She pulled me closer and pressed a kiss to my forehead "I'm really proud of you. You're living your dream. Although I still expect to hear from that mystery man you're going to be staying with."

I blushed "There's nothing going on, Aunt Jenna. I met Nik last time I was in New York and we got talking."

"And you didn't stop talking either," she teased "Just… Answer me one question. How old is he?"

"Er," I scratched the back of my head "Around twenty, twenty-two maybe. In human years that is."

Her eyebrows shot up "He's a vampire?"

"You expect anything else?" I grinned "Elena and Jay are already dating vampires. I was feeling left out."

Jenna snorted "Yeah, yeah. I hope that you'll have him visit sometime? Or at very least, you have to show me a picture. Okay?"

"I promise. I'm gonna go pack now. Call if you need anything from me," I pressed a short kiss to her cheek and got up from the floor.

Up in my room, I got out my suitcase and opened my closet. What to take? I should probably take some of the stuff from last time. Some more comfortable clothes and oh, I know. I'll take the new dresses I have. As always, I packed more than I'd probably needed but since I didn't have to carry it around with me for too long, I didn't minded. As soon as my stuff was inside with all my toiletries, I packed Hero's stuff as well. A small bad of food, some treats and an extra vest and leash. In my backpack, I put in my art stuff that I never leave without, a collapsible bowl, a small bottle of water, two small goody bags. One for me and one for Hero.

As soon as everything was done, I slipped on my dress for tonight. It went to mid-tight and was a dark red that complimented my hair. From waist up, it was a silver embroidered bodice that went up to my shoulders. My mask was solid black embroidered with blood red. All in all, I really loved the outfit… So much that I'll definitely wear that dress again.

A knock on my door startled me out of my observation "Are you ready, Angel?" Damon questioned from outside.

"Yeah," I murmured, running a hand through my hair one last time "I'm coming." I grabbed my shoes and opened the door.

"Woah," Damon whistled "If you weren't as good as my little sister, I would totally have sex with you."

I grimaced "Thanks for that unwanted picture… And you're my big brother as well."

His head snapped around and a big grin spread across his lips "I'm glad. So, you still want me to drive you to the airport tomorrow?"

"If you could?" I smiled, leaning my head on his shoulder lightly "Thank you, Damon. I never said it but you really helped me with… well, with everything."

"Always," he murmured, pressing a quick kiss to the top of my head "I think we're actually helping each other. I'm sure I would have fallen in love with Elena if you hadn't shown me what she was like."

I shrugged "I didn't do much. You still protect her though," I pointed out.

"For Stefan," Damon explained, opening the car door for me "I've been a shitty brother the last century because I really hated him for what he did to me… If I can help him to protect the girl he loves. I want to do it."

"You're a good guy, Damon," I said softly "Even though you might not see it or believe it. I have seen the way you act if you trust the people around you. I don't care what Elena says… She has no right to try and change you."

The vampire squeezed my hand "She's wrong about you too. I might not understand that whole magic thing you have going on but you're a smart girl, Angel. Smart, funny, sarcastic. This Nik is really lucky to have your love."

I blushed, fiddling with the mask in my lap "I… I don't… You think I love him?"

"It's your expression," he murmured "Whenever I see you text or talk to him. There's something in your eyes… You didn't know?"

I shook my head "I've never been in love. Hell, I never really knew love – even familial love – until the Gilbert's adopted me." It took us another ten minutes to reach the Lockwood Mansion, getting out of the car together "Thanks for bringing me here, Damon. Good luck."

"I hope we'll be able to do it…" he sighed "How are you getting home?"

"I'm grabbing the car keys from Jay," I waved "Oh, there's Carol. See you tomorrow morning."

The vampire nodded "What time was it again?"

"Four," I grinned at his groan "I have to be at the airport at five thirty."

"What possessed you to get a flight this early?" he whined.

I patted his shoulder, trying very hard not to laugh "You'll survive… Stefan's here. I'll leave you now." After he nodded, I left him to walk over to Jeremy and Bonnie "Hey, Jay. I need the keys back."

"Oh, sure," he smiled, handing over the car keys "You look good, Tiny."

"Thanks, Jay," I replied "You look dashing as well. Be careful, would you? Hello Bonnie." I mingled with the people from the Council for over an hour, before I excused myself. I did have to get up early the next morning and Damon and I only arrived here at eight.

Just when I walked through the front door, I heard Jenna whine "I feel like an invalid."

"That's because you are," Elena pointed out "Where's Jeremy? Is he hungry?"

"He's at the ball," I told her, leaning against the doorway "Are you feeling any better?"

The older woman rolled her eyes in exasperation "I'm fine. For the hundredth time." Elena frowned at both me and Aunt Jenna, before walking off, mumbling some excuse "What's with her?"

I shrugged "Maybe it's because she doesn't like being stuck here? I'm gonna go change and go to bed. Night and I'll see you next week."

"Have fun in New York and keep me posted about your paintings, will you?" she demanded with a small grin.

"Of course," I nodded "You get better soon." I stuck my head into the kitchen "Night, Ric. Take care of Aunt Jenna while I'm gone, will you?"

"Sure. Goodnight," he nodded and turned back to Elena "Just let this one go. Okay, Elena?"


	31. New York: The Sequel Part One

"Nik," I called out, throwing my arms around the vampire's neck as soon as I saw him. He had been leaning against one of the pillars outside of the Gate, waiting for me. Nik stiffened for a moment, before his arms wrapped around me tightly, inhaling my scent.

"Hello, my Angel," he murmured, pressing a kiss to my cheek "How was your flight?"

I huffed quietly, leaning against him tiredly. I had only been awake for about five hours but I was already exhausted "The airline kicked up a fuss because of Hero and then there was another asshole who had a problem with the fact that he was sitting next to a dog."

Nik chuckled and picked up my suitcase "Come on. Let's get out of here before I decide to drain someone." The vampire wrapped an arm around my waist, for some reason he was way more touchy-feely than last time we met. I assumed it had to do with the fact that we knew each other by now and all the conversations. And all the conversations that Damon interrupted for us. Well, that and the fact that he sent one of his friends to check up on me.

It took us about an hour of small talk to reach Nik's house. Although… 'house' might be the wrong word for it. Manor, Mansion, almost a castle "Jesus Christ," I mumbled, staring up at the building "The Boarding House is big but this… It's huge."

"Boarding House?" Nik questioned, leading me inside.

I nodded "The Salvatore Boarding House. Damon Salvatore is as good as my brother." I grinned up at the vampire "He's the one who always walks in on us talking."

Realization dawned on Nik's face "The very short-lived one?"

"No killing, maiming or hurting my brother," I warned with a snort "He'll probably piss off the wrong person sooner rather than later anyway…"

"That's your brother you're talking about?" the vampire raised an eyebrow "You don't seem to have too much faith in him."

I let out a laugh "Oh, no. I do but Damon is a bit… special." I knelt down and freed Hero from his vest, making him pant happily. As soon as I let go of him, he started jumping up and down, sniffing around the house curiously "Sorry about him," I rolled my eyes "Apparently he's still very much a puppy."

"Don't worry about it, little Red," Nik waved off "How about I show you to your room and then we could do something? Maybe watch a movie?"

I raised an eyebrow at the nickname "I'm not little," I protested with a huff but started smiling a second later "I'd love to though. Movie sounds… relaxing. Just what I need."

Nik smirked "Have you seen the size of you? You definitely are little." His arm wrapped around my shoulders again and he started leading me up the stairs and to a huge room "Here you go. My room is over there." Nik pointed to the door opposite the room he was giving me "If you need anything don't hesitate to come to me. The bathroom is through here."

"This is amazing," I murmured softly "Thanks, Nik. I appreciate you putting up with me while I'm in New York."

"Hey," he urged, placing my suitcase down on the bed. The vampire turned back to me and stared into my eyes "I'm not 'putting up with you', Angel. I want you to be here. Hell, I'm ecstatic to be able to see you again."

I searched his eyes for a moment and then sighed, running a hand through my hair "I'm going to take a shower. I'll be done once I'm done." Nik's expression closed off and he nodded, making to leave the room "Nik, I –"

"Later," he waved me off "Go and take your shower, alright?" With those words, I was alone in the room.

I closed my eyes in despair. Why did I have to mess everything up? I sank to the floor, burying my face in my hands. I liked Nik, I really, really did but I didn't know what to do about it. Talking to him on the phone was different than seeing him again. A part of me was scared of getting too close. In my old world, everyone I cared about was in danger from Voldemort. Cedric died… Cedric. He was someone I hadn't thought about in a while. I think – I think I had a bit of a crush on him… Who hadn't? He was really nice. Even though it took a while for them to believe that I didn't put my name in the Cup. And now I was thinking about it again. It had gotten easier recently to ignore my past life. So much had happened with Elena and vampires and my Art that I was just busy enough not to get too into the past. After all, the future is so much more interesting, even if I'm scared of what it might hold. I'm not afraid of dying, never had been and because of what the Dursleys did, I probably never would be again. I climbed to my feet and gathered some comfortable clothes from my suitcase, making my way to the bathroom. No use of living in the past anymore. Even if it didn't seem like it, I still had time. Nik was a vampire.

When I walked down the stairs half an hour later, wearing a white crop top with paint splattered all over it along with black sweatpants. Downstairs, I found Nik petting Hero's stomach, talking to the dog "You like that, don't you?" he asked the dog in amusement, snorting when Hero barked in agreement "I think I'm going to like you, Hero."

"That's good to know," I grinned, walking closer to the vampire.

Nik's head snapped up and he blinked a few times "Right, erm… So, about the movie," he stuttered.

"How about a TV show instead?" I questioned, the perfect idea popping into my head "Ever watched True Blood?"

"No?"

I smirked "Then I'm not going to tell you anything else… You'll see."

Nik pouted, flashing over to draw me into a hug "You're mean, little Red. You know that?"

"Oh, bite me," I snorted before freezing for a nanosecond "Not an invitation, by the way."

The vampire let out a laugh "No worries, Angel. I didn't take it as such."

"Oh, before I forget," I gracelessly fell onto the couch, scratching Hero's head when he wriggled out of Nik's grasp to run up to me "Your witchy friend is pretty bad at stealth."

Nik raised an eyebrow at me "I have no idea what you're babbling about."

"Sure," I nodded mockingly "And Maddox just knew your name at random, right?"

"Exactly," the vampire agreed. I stared at him for a few more seconds before he groaned, throwing himself down next to me "I can't deny it now, can I? You shouldn't have seen him at all. Maybe I should have a talk with him."

I poked his arm "I'm not oblivious… I notice when someone's following me. Well, I notice now. You might not believe me but I can take care of myself."

Nik pulled me into his arms "That's not my problem. I want you safe and you seem to get into trouble way too often. Please don't argue with me about this?"

"Fine," I sighed "It helps that I like Maddox. From what I've seen, he's pretty cool."

"Should we watch that show now?"

I nodded, stealing the remote to the gigantic flat screen from him. I quickly entered my Netflix data and selected 'True Blood'. The only reason I was looking forward to watching this was because I wanted to see the vampire's reaction to the 'vampires' in the show. There were some things that were similar but not everything and not totally accurate.

"What in the world is TruBlood?" Nik blinked, staring at the screen in confusion.

I tried to suppress my grin and leaned my head against his shoulder "You'll see. Give it a few minutes…"

A few minutes later, the vampire startled "Vampires? This is a show about vampires?"

"Yup," I shrugged "At least I didn't make you watch Twilight with me. That's something even I can't stand although Sookie does seem similar to Bella in a way…"

"Do I have to watch this?" Nik whined and I couldn't help but think that he was kind of cute when he pouted. It made him look younger somehow…

"Tell you what. We'll watch one Episode and after that, you can decide what to watch?" I offered, looking up at him.

Nik's arms tightened around my waist "Deal." The Episode was over pretty quickly, with the occasional comment from the vampire. He made fun of the Vampire Bill, as he was called or will be called in future Episodes. The fact that they were harmed by silver, basically everything the writers of the show got wrong "That was… bad."

I poked him in the side "A lot of first Episodes are. The only thing that was a bit over the top in the show was all the sex scenes."

"Sex…" Nik trailed off and shook his head "I don't want to know. Ready for my choice?"

"I'm not too sure, no," I teased, a mock scared look on my face.

The vampire startled tickling my side "Why you little…"

"No," I called out, laughing "Nik, please…"

"Say you're sorry," he demanded playfully.

I squirmed in his grip "Sorry, sorry," I gasped and sighed in relief when he stopped. I leaned back against him and leaned my head back "Wow me with your choice of movie, oh great one."

"Finally my correct title," the vampire exclaimed, snatching the remote from my hands "Have you ever watched 'The Mummy'?"

"No," I shook my head "I wanted to watch it but then I got a bit distracted with everything."

Nik nodded "Then we'll watch that. I kind of enjoy it." He pressed play and got more comfortable with me still firmly in his arms. I really enjoyed being this close to him… My eyes were slowly drifting shut when Rick and Beni were racing to see who could get to Hamunaptra first.

I didn't know how long I had been snoozing until a hand shook my waist lightly "Angel. Come on, love. You have to eat something and then you can go to bed."

"Hm," I hummed "Nik?"

"Yes," he replied "So what about food? Want me to order something or go out?"

I rubbed at my eyes, trying to wake up "If you have groceries, I can cook something."

"I don't actually but there's a supermarket not too far from here," Nik scratched his head sheepishly.

I looked down at my clothes and shrugged in defeat "Let's go food shopping then. I'll just grab a jacket. No point in changing."

Ten minutes later, we pulled up at the supermarket "Go and get everything you need for the weeks," Nik gestured, taking the shopping card awkwardly.

I snorted "You're not used to doing this, are you?"

"It's that obvious?" the vampire asked.

"Yup," I nodded "But your secret is safe with me."

Nik shook his head "You're a brat, aren't you?"

"You only notice that now?" My head tilted to the side. I wasn't really sure whether he meant that in a bad way or not but I couldn't let that stop me right now. If I ruined this for myself, I'd never forgive myself… "So, what do you like to eat?"

"What can you make?"

I shrugged "A lot of things… Pasta, desserts of all sorts, Asian, several dishes with rice, pancakes… And a whole lot more. I did specialize in Full English Breakfasts though. My, uh, my relatives would always want me to make that. Without the healthy portion of it though."

"I don't really mind. Just get a few things," the vampire waved off "I'm not too fussy when it comes to food."

I nodded with a small smile "Okay. How about stir fry and fruits tonight? That's fast enough…" I walked through the aisles, putting in fruits, veggies and some other thing. It was about half of the amount I bought for us at home, so it should be enough for Nik and me. I also grabbed some tortilla wraps for the leftover veggies and so I could maybe take one as a snack. Dad made sure that I knew to snack in between meals, to get my weight up. Ever since I turned fourteen though, I didn't really put on too much weight anymore, no matter how much I ate. It was frustrating but apparently the way my body worked now.

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly and soon I dropped into the bed, exhausted. I loved the day with Nik. It was one of the most relaxing days I had in a while. Nik, even though I could imagine him being terrifying to the people he didn't like, was really warm and nice to me. Today has shown me that I had definitely fallen for him over the last several months. Even though we only talked over the phone or texted, he was so concerned for me. It was cute. And ever the fact that he sent Maddox to check up on me. I certainly didn't mind having an extra protector in place… A witch at that. With the number of times I had gotten hurt or kidnapped, I could use someone like that close to me. It also helped that I liked the warlock so far. He was someone I could see myself becoming friends with.


	32. New York: The Sequel Part Two

I was already at the Art show with Nik when my phone rang. It was around nine in the morning and the Art show started at eleven. Since Robert wanted to see me beforehand to talk about some things, we left earlier. It turned out to be a bit too early though… "Jeremy?" I questioned, glancing at Nik "What's wrong?"

" _Elena's been kidnapped,_ " my younger brother rushed out " _She back now though. Stefan and Damon went after her._ _"_

I fell back into the chair "Wait… That means that she was taken after the Masquerade? I thought she wasn't there?"

" _After the Masquerade._ _She went because she wanted to know what was going on… And then we found out that Katherine linked herself to Elena. Let's just say that the bitch is in the tomb and Elena safe now_ _,"_ Jeremy explained.

"Great," I sighed "I'm guessing Bonnie located her? That was a pretty amazing piece of magic…" I paused for a moment "Did I really just say that?"

Jeremy laughed " _I can't quite believe it either. Damon's here now. Hold on._ "

" _Angel? Did the flight go alright?_ " Damon's voice came through the phone.

"It did," I smiled lightly "So, about my dear sister… Who took her?"

The vampire sighed " _We'll talk about it once you're back next week._ _Don't worry about it. Enjoy your time in New York with_ Nik."

I blushed at his teasing and didn't dare look at the chuckling man in front of me "Shut up, Damon."

" _You wound me, missy,"_  he groaned in mock pain " _But seriously. Enjoy the time away from all this shit. Be safe._ "

"You too," I gave back "And be careful. Try not to die." I hung up the phone and rubbed my temples "Typical," I sighed.

Nik still had a smirk on his face but there was an underlying expression of concern "Who's Elena?"

"My sister," I told him "Well, adopted sister. I told you that we don't really get along too great but… She tends to get into a lot of trouble."

"And you resent that?"

I shook my head "No. I don't care as long as she leaves me alone which she never does. Listen, can we talk about something else?"

"Sure," the vampire nodded and pulled out his phone "There's always the choice of freaking out Maddox?"

I snorted "You're horrible. Why not leave the poor man alone? It's not as if he didn't already freak out enough when I walked up to him."

"Well, he deserves it," Nik pointed out "I thought he would have been sneakier."

"Angel," a familiar voice called from behind me.

I whirled around and smiled "Robert," I greeted "It's nice to see you again."

"Same to you," he replied, shaking my hand enthusiastically "Mr. Mikaelson." Nik nodded quietly, his hand resting on my lower back gently "Now, I hope you're ready because I have some good news for you."

"Really?"

Robert nodded "There are quite a few of your paintings already sold. You gave me… How many was it again?"

"Forty," I supplied, tilting my head.

"Right, right… Erm, hold on." The man looked down at his tablet "So, we have half of those already sold and I imagine that either all of them are gone by the end of the week or we have a few leftovers. The themes of your art seems to be a real hit. For now, we're looking at a… seven-figure sum."

I gaped "Already? Seriously?"

"You should have more faith in your abilities, love," Nik murmured, sliding closer to me "Your paintings are really good. Your painting is actually the only piece I own from someone who is not me."

I blushed lightly "It's not that good. But thank you anyway." I looked up at Robert and smiled shyly "We'll probably not be here all of the time, Robert… I hope you don't mind?"

"Not at all," he grinned, looking from Nik to me curiously. I could practically hear his curious thoughts. He's never seen Mr. Mikaelson interested in anyone and the man was a huge donor. Without him, half of these shows wouldn't be possible. Robert held out a piece of paper "There are sometimes that I would like you here but other than that… Have fun."

"Thank you," I nodded, wrapping Hero's leash around my hand twice, pulling the dog a bit closer. I didn't know what it was about New York that made me uncomfortable but I never had these many problems in Mystic Falls. Maybe it was the vibe or it was the number of people in the city. It was the population of my hometown multiplied by a few thousand.

Nik grabbed my hand and pulled me with him "Let's look around before I take you out to an early lunch?"

"That would be nice," I sighed, following him willingly.

We only arrived home when it was already dark outside and I was dead on my feet. Not quite literally but almost. I was ready to fall asleep right then and there. Nik had his arm wrapped around my waist, trying to make sure that I didn't fall and die "Maybe you should go to bed?" he suggested, steering me in the direction of the stairs.

I nodded, my eyes continuously falling shut before I forced them to open again "Kay," I yawned. The vampire helped me up the stairs and to the room I was using. Before we reached the door though, I whirled around, pressing a quick kiss to his lips "Thanks for today. I really enjoyed it." Nik was blinking rapidly, staring at me with slightly widened eyes. When he didn't move for another minute, I slowly backed away from him "Sorry," I mumbled "I shouldn't have done that… S – Sorry."

My hand was on the doorknob when the vampire's voice stopped me "Angel." I turned around to find him right behind me. He raised his hands to cup my face and slowly moved closer, giving me enough time to pull away. When I didn't, he quickly captured my lips.

"Nik," I sighed against his mouth, running a hand to his cheek "I should go to bed."

"Right," Nik nodded, pulling away reluctantly "Right… Goodnight, my Angel."

Did I really just do that? Why on Earth did I always have to do stupid things when I'm tired? But he kissed me back, right? That must mean that he likes me? 'Or he just thinks you're easy' a voice spoke up in the back of my mind. It sounded suspiciously like Aunt Petunia, so I just batted it away. If he thought that, he would have never taken the time to talk to me this much or even sent Maddox after me. He would have simply tried to charm me into his bed and dropped me the first chance he got. Maybe this was real… I really hoped so.

The next morning, I thought things would have been awkward between us but it wasn't. We just had breakfast the same as the day before and left for our day in New York. Nik said he would take me to the High Line and the Central Park Zoo. I had no idea what the High Line was but the vampire just smiled mysteriously and pulled me along. After the short visit to the Art show, we left the car there and used public transportation. According to Nik, he hated it but it was easier and faster than using the car. Too many people around…

Once we reached the High Line I gasped "This is amazing. What exactly is this though?"

"It's a public park that was built on some historic freight train line. They display Art and also there are gardens all over. Plus, you can see onto the streets of New York," Nik explained.

"Well, whoever had the idea… They definitely did amazing with this," I grinned, grabbing Nik's hand to drag him to the first Art part. After the walk finished, we went to an Italian restaurant for early lunch. It was called Mercato and was pretty close to where the High Line ended.

Nik ordered something in Italian which I couldn't understand a word of. Typical! I was a bit surprised when the waiter brought us a bottle of red wine though "I'm not even eighteen yet, Nik. Much less twenty-one," I hissed quietly.

"It's Italian food," the vampire argued "It's better with a glass of red wine. You don't have to drink it if you don't want to…"

I closed my eyes for a moment "Half a glass and I want an Iced Tea as well."

"Of course, my Angel," he smiled charmingly "What do you want to eat?"

I looked down at the menu and frowned. A lot of it was with garlic… I liked garlic as much as the next person but I preferred my food without it "Hum… Maybe the ravioli with spinach and ricotta?"

"Good choice," Nik complimented. He quickly ordered everything – in Italian of course and we went back to our small talk.

The afternoon, we spent at the Central Park Zoo, where Nik stole a couple more kisses, while I was distracted by one animal or another. It was cute actually… Not that I'd tell him that. When we were about to head home in the evening, I wrapped my arms around his neck, taking him by surprise "Thank you, Nik. I really enjoyed it."

"I'm glad," he murmured, dipping his head to press a short kiss to my lips "I'm not used to… dating, so I hope that I didn't mess up too badly?"

I laughed lightly "It seems that we're both new to it, then. Don't worry. I enjoyed it and your company was appreciated."

The vampire gasped in mock hurt "Only appreciated, little Red? Well, see if I go through the trouble again."

"Oh, no," I played along, practically throwing myself into his arms, always being careful of the leash I was holding. Hero was lying on the ground by our feet, completely spent. There was a reason why I didn't go out as often or as long as I did today. One was because I'd sooner or later get overwhelmed with the number of people or I tired out my service dog. He was pretty resilient but I think today was still a bit too much "Whatever shall I do without you?"

"Too right," he puffed out his chest. We stared at each other for a moment before we both started laughing.

In the subway, I curled against Nik's stronger form, resting my head on his shoulder tiredly. Opposite of us, there was an older woman, who was watching us with a small smile. I nodded to her and started playing with Nik's fingers a bit. It was a habit that I had for years now. I would either play with my own fingers or now Nik's. I think I ever did it to mom and dad when I was younger. It soothed me though, so I continued doing it… Not that anyone ever complained.

When we finally got home, it was around nine in the evening. As soon as we walked through the door, Nik knelt down and took care of Hero's leash and vest. I smiled at him sleepily and murmured a quick thanks "I think I should go to bed," I mumbled.

"Stay with me?" Nik offered. I blinked at him uncertainly, my face showing my doubts "Just to sleep. I promise that nothing more will happen until you're ready. You're seventeen… We have all the time in the world."

I debated the offer for a few moments before I sighed "Alright," I smiled, running a hand through my hair "I'll just get ready and then… Then I'll be there." Nik drew me into another quick kiss and shooed me up the stairs.

Twenty minutes later, I was lying on the far end of the vampire's bed. I didn't dare to get any closer… Nik sighed softly and reached out to me "You know that you don't have to stay over there, right?"

I blushed, somehow glad that it was dark outside "Sorry," I mumbled, shuffling closer to where he was lying. As soon as I was within reach, he wound his arms around me, pulling me flush against his chest.

"Goodnight, my Angel," he murmured.

"Night, Nik."


	33. Back Home

_Flashback_

_It wasn't as awkward as I would have thought to wake up lying half on top of Nik. Thankfully, I didn't drool or anything equally embarrassing._

_"Morning," Nik murmured, looking down at me with a sleepy look._

_I grinned up at him and raised my head to lay it on my hand "Hey."_

" _Did you sleep well?"_

" _Hm," I hummed, shimmying up to press a small kiss to his lips "I did actually."_

_Nik tugged at my hair lightly and pulled me into a slightly deeper kiss "You have no idea how happy I am to be able to do this."_

" _I think I might have an idea," I murmured._

_He pecked my lips again and shifted me off of him "Let's go get some breakfast, shall we?"_

_Scene Change_

_On my last day in New York, I was standing in front of a huge portrait. There were six people in there and each one looked better than the next. Nik was standing just behind a chair with a blonde girl in it. On either side of him were two more guys. The far right was taken by a long-haired man with serious brown eyes. He looked to be the oldest of the lot. Then there was another man who looked only a few years younger, looking pretty similar to the first guy. Nik was standing on his left. On Nik's left was another male. This one looked the same as the first two with mischievous brown eyes and a small smirk. The last one was the youngest of them all. A boy around fourteen or fifteen if I had to guess "Who are they?" I asked quietly, looking over my shoulder at the vampire._

" _You've gotten good at that," he complimented, coming closer "Sensing when people are behind you." His arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me back into his chest "That's my family. My siblings."_

_I leaned my head against his shoulder and turned to look up at him "You have siblings?"_

" _Yeah. I do…" he looked at the painting for a moment before sighing "From right to left it's my older brothers Finn and Elijah, then me and my younger brothers Kol and –" Nik broke off and cleared his throat "And Henrik. He died when we were human."_

_I turned around and wrapped my arms around his neck to pull him down to my level "Nik, I'm so sorry. You were close?"_

" _Yeah," he breathed "It's my fault."_

" _No, Nik," I told him firmly "I don't know what happened but it's not your fault."_

_He laughed tearfully – The fact that he was so close to tears was actually freaking me out a bit. I wasn't good with crying people "Yes, it is. If I hadn't taken him to see the wolves turn into men then he wouldn't have died."_

" _Have I ever told you about Cedric?" I spoke up, looking at him._

" _Who is he?" Nik frowned._

_I grabbed his hand and lead him to the living room couch "It's a long and complicated story. I think in a way, I liked him? Maybe? I wasn't too good at figuring out my emotions back then. There was a competition and we were both competing for the same school. Cedric was in another house though… I – The last task something happened. We both took the cup for a shared victory but something went wrong. He was killed… I saw him die right in front of me… And I did nothing."_

" _What happened?" the vampire questioned, drawing me into a tight hug._

" _This is going to sound unbelievable but… You know the Harry Potter books, right?" I questioned, waiting for him to nod "I told you that the Gilbert's adopted me, right? My name before I came to them was Angel Potter… I'm a witch, Nik."_

_Nik's arms slackened "Wait, what? That's impossible."_

" _I was hit with the backlash of Voldemort's Killing Curse when I was fourteen… I – Somehow I was deaged and brought here," I explained, biting my lip nervously. If I really wanted to be with him then I had to be honest… About everything "My childhood was shit the first time around and I'm still suffering for one man's bad choices. If Dumbledore hadn't been there, I wouldn't have gone to the Dursleys or even confronted Voldemort."_

" _You know," Nik murmured into my hair "As unbelievable as that sounds… I can tell when people are lying to me and you aren't. So, can you still do magic here?"_

_I laughed at him lightly, letting out the breath I didn't know I was holding "Yeah. I finally got my animagus transformation down. Wanna see?" It had taken me quite a while but not as long as it should have, I think. Maybe it was because I was already meditating before that and once I found my animal form it was pretty easy to accomplish._

" _Animagus was animal transformation, right?" the vampire frowned. His eyes lit up when I nodded "Of course, I want to see." I wriggled out of his arms and walked over to a free space. Less chance of knocking into anything. I took a couple of deep breaths and slowly felt myself shifting. As soon as my paws hit the ground, I shook out my fur. My animagus was a silver-white wolf, not fully grown but probably almost as tall as I would get "You're gorgeous," Nik murmured, flashing to my side. I barked happily when he started scratching my ear and licked his cheek. I bullied my way into his lap and stretched out, enjoying the petting session._

_Flashback End_

The next day, Nik drove me to the airport for my flight. The vampire went with me through baggage drop-off and all the way to security. I sighed "Do I have to go?"

"I preferred it if you didn't but I don't think we have a choice," Nik murmured, pulling me into a hug "Hey, maybe I'll visit soon?"

I looked up at him with a raised eyebrow "Why would anyone want to come to Mystic Falls? Voluntarily?"

"Hm," Nik leaned down, brushing our lips together "Maybe a certain vampire wants to visit his girlfriend. It's known to happen?"

"Really?" I questioned with a small grin "And what if said girlfriend doesn't want you to meet her embarrassing family?"

Laughter spilled over the vampire's lips "Come on, my Angel. They can't be that bad."

"You have no idea," I sighed, leaning my head against his chest "My aunt and uncle are ridiculous. My brother isn't much better and my sister hates the crap out of me."

"Speaking of…" Nik hesitated "Maddox took a picture of someone… I didn't want to bring it up but…"

I raised an eyebrow at him "Who did he take a picture of?" The vampire handed me his phone with the picture open. I looked down and sighed "You know who that is?"

"From your reaction, I'd say that it isn't Katerina?" he murmured.

"No," I shook my head "That's my sister, Elena, actually. Why do you want to know?"

Nik looked around "I'll text you later, alright? I'm sorry but this isn't something I want to talk about in the airport… I shouldn't have mentioned it."

"Nik," I cut him off, pulling him down to my level again "It's important to you?" He nodded mutely "Then I don't mind you asking. I don't judge you… You should know that by now."

The vampire sighed and buried his face in my hair "What did I do to deserve you? But it's only fair. You told me your secret after all."

"Like you said. Not now…" I ran a hand through his short blond hair and sighed "I should go now."

"Right," he nodded. Before he let me go, we kissed one last time "Call or text me once you're at home."

I saluted playfully, picking up my bag "Sir, yes, sir."

"Brat," he laughed and shooed me away. I looked back at him once I was through the security check. One last wave was all I could do before I lost sight of him.

My phone beeped and I looked at the display ' **Miss you already.** ' Nik.

I laughed quietly and wrapped Hero's leash around my hand, so I could text back ' **I could say the same.** '

"Angel," a familiar voice called from behind. A red-haired woman came up to me "If it wasn't for that cute dog, I wouldn't have recognized you."

"Sage, right?" I questioned, smiling at the vampire "What are you doing here?"

Sage shrugged "I live in New York. Actually, I just got back and saw you here… Were you at another Art show?"

I nodded with a small smile "That and visiting my… my boyfriend." At that moment, my phone started ringing. The caller ID said that it was Damon "Sorry. Give me a moment. Damon?" I noticed Sage perk up at the name.

" _Hey, Tiny. Listen, Ric's going to come pick you up. I have something to deal with. That alright?_ "

I frowned "Er, sure. Is everything alright?"

Damon sighed " _We'll talk about it once you're back. It's a bit of a long story."_

"If you say so," I shrugged "Fine. Tell Alaric if he isn't there when I land, I'm going to kill him. Slowly and painfully."

" _Hold on,_ " Damon laughed and relied the message to my aunt's boyfriend. I snorted. Of course, the two of them were out together… again. They always were " _He said he'll be there. Just out of curiosity… Would you do that to your aunt?"_

"She'd get over it," I told him "Plus, you two are the town drunks… I could make it look like an accident."

Suddenly, Alaric's voice came through the phone " _I'm slightly concerned that you will turn out to be a serial murder and end up in prison._ "

"Give me some credit, Ric. I wouldn't get caught," I laughed "Now, thanks for picking me up… I appreciate it."

" _No problem. See you later."_

He hung up the phone and I looked back to Sage "Sorry about that. My aunt's boyfriend and my… pseudo-brother."

"Damon?" she questioned "That wouldn't be Damon Salvatore?"

I blinked "You know him?"

"He's my prodigy. Taught him everything he needed to know about being a vampire," she whispered.

"Huh," I mumbled "I'm not sure if I should say thank you or slap you. You basically taught him how to hide behind that stupid mask of his."

Sage laughed "You really are his sister in all but blood, aren't you?"

"He's helped me out a few times, taught me how to defend myself," I told her. Since we were standing near the departure boards, I quickly checked for my flight "Damn," I curse when I saw the Gate displayed "Sorry, Sage. I have to go."

"Wait," she stopped me "Give me your phone." I handed it over to her and let her type in her number "If you ever need my help. Call me… And keep me updated on Damon's antics. I feel like they're going to be amusing."

I laughed "They probably will. Bye, Sage."

"Bye, Angel. Have a good flight."

"Thanks," I called over my shoulder and walked off with Hero by my side. That was weird… How the hell did I get to the airport at the same time as the woman I met by accident last time I went to New York? Not that I minded. Sage was pretty nice but still… That was one hell of a coincidence.

The flight time passed quickly since I spent the majority of the time snoozing. Nik and I had stayed up for ages, just talking about my life before the adoption. He had promised me that we would talk about his past as well but not yet. I think he was scared that I would start hating him or whatever… I wasn't too sure about this.

"Hey, Ric," I smiled, walking over to my History teacher.

Alaric quickly pulled me into a hug, grabbing my suitcase from me "How was New York?"

"It was nice," I told him "This time I wasn't at the Art show for too long. Saw a lot of New York. It was really cool."

"With Nik, huh?" he teased, bumping my shoulder with his.

I blushed "Yea, with Nik. It was… nice."

"Good to know, kid," Alaric grinned "Maybe you shouldn't tell your aunt too much though."

I grimaced "Oh, God. Nothing happened. At least… not much. Can we go home now? I wanna take a shower."

Alaric laughed and steered me to where he parked the car "Let's go then. I'm sure Damon wants to see you later on as well."

"We'll see," I murmured "Maybe it has to wait until tomorrow… I'm pretty tired."

Ric asked me some more questions on the drive to our house and I answered most of them "That's where I'm gonna have to drop you off. I promised Damon to join him for a drink."

"Town drunk," I coughed, taking my suitcase from the backseat while Hero jumped outside, running up to the front door.

My teacher glared at me playfully "Careful there, missy. I can give you detention."

"That would be abusing your privileges," I pointed out and walked up the drive "Have fun with Damon, Ric. Just… Don't do anything stupid." I dug my key out of my pocket and unlocked the door only to see my aunt digging around in the cupboard under the stairs, cursing lowly "This wasn't what I was expecting to come home to, Aunt Jenna," I grinned, discarding my suitcase. Blue ran up to me, his tail wagging. I crouched down and scratched him behind the ears.

"Angel," Jenna exclaimed, running over to hug me "How was New York?"

"Loud," I answered "Crowded… And a bit too big for my taste. Nothing I didn't notice last time I was there."

I glanced behind her and raised an eyebrow at the cupboard "What are you looking for in there anyway?"

"Oh, there were these files from the Historical Society…" Jenna trailed off "Speaking of which. Elijah," she called and a man stepped out from behind the door. A very familiar man… In fact, I had only seen him yesterday. In a painting. Why exactly was Nik's brother here? In my house? "This is my niece Angel. Angel, this is Elijah Smith. He's a writer."

The man came closer and reached out a hand. I took his outstretched hand and startled lightly "It's a pleasure," he smiled charmingly.

I nodded "Same, I guess." Jenna was watching me weirdly "Didn't I tell you not to invite vampires in, Aunt Jenna? You don't know… where they've been. No offense."

My aunt's head snapped up and stared at Nik's brother "Vampire?"

"How?" Elijah blinked, his face expressionless.

"Magic," I grinned, causing my Aunt to snort "Also if you really want the files for the Historical Society… They're up in my room. Along with everything else that's related to the history of our family or this town. I thought you would have known by now."

Jenna groaned "You mean I could have stopped searching through the cupboard an hour ago?"

I laughed and patted her should "Sorry. Hello, Elena."

"What's going on here?" my sister questioned, looking from our aunt to me and back.

"Your sister is a brat, that's what," Aunt Jenna sighed "I got roped into helping Mrs. Lockwood and by roped, I mean very excited to participate."

I laughed when she directed that to the vampire who was slightly hidden again "I'm sure you are… But yes, Mrs. Lockwood has that effect on people."

That's when Elijah stepped out "Hey," he waved with a barely noticeable smirk "I'm Elijah."

"Elijah's in town doing research on Mystic Falls," Jenna told a very nervous looking Elena.

I rolled my eyes at all of them "It's nice to see you two acting like you don't know each other… I'm going to go to my room." I looked at the vampire "Do you actually want those files or not?"

"It's fine," he waved off "I don't need them."

"Alright then…" I shrugged, walking to my discarded suitcase and then up the stairs. I quickly showered and decided against going to the Grill to meet up with Damon. My bed was calling for me.

' **I'm home and you wouldn't believe who I found when I finally got home.** ' I texted Nik.

It only took a few minutes until I got a response ' **Who?** '

' **Your brother.** '

I could practically hear the other vampire's groan of annoyance ' **Great… Please tell me he doesn't know about me.** '

' **He doesn't. I don't plan on telling him either. Now, I'm tired. Talk to you soon?** '

' **Of course. Sleep well, my Angel.** '


	34. 2x12 The Descent

The next day, I was meeting Damon at the Grill. He had told me everything that I missed over the last week and I was a bit stunned to realize just how much it was…

I frowned at Damon "So, wait. Elena was kidnapped by people who wanted to give her to Elijah to give to this Klaus person. Why?"

"To break the curse of the Sun and the Moon," the older Salvatore brother explained patiently.

"Right and that curse needs a Doppelgänger?" I questioned, slightly suspicious. Didn't Nik say something about a curse that needed Elena as well? It didn't sound like he was talking about this one and I highly doubted that there would be more than one curse with a Doppelgänger as the key ingredient.

Damon nodded "Yeah. It's said that if vampires break the curse then they won't burn in the sunlight, if werewolves break it, then they don't have to turn. The moonstone is part of the ritual as well."

"Huh," I blinked. Now I definitely had to talk to Maddox about this. Something was just not adding up "Sorry to cut this short, Damon but I have to go."

"Wait," the vampire called out, stopping me in my tracks "There's something… Can you come over to the Boarding House later? The girl – Rose – she was bitten by a werewolf last night. Is there any possibility you could maybe look at her? See if you can heal her?"

I closed my eyes for a moment "Yeah, yeah," I nodded "I can try. Rose, her name was?"

"Yes. And Angel?" Damon smiled "Thank you for trying."

I walked back over to him and hugged him "You're my brother, Day."

When I was out of the building, I pulled out my phone ' **Need to talk to you. Will come to Mrs. Flowers' Boarding House. ASAP.** ' It only took me ten minutes for me to reach the place Nik's warlock was staying and with only a quick hello to Mrs. Flowers, I jogged up the stairs to the room I knew Maddox would be in.

"Come in," he called as soon as I knocked. I opened the door to see him lounging on the bed, looking at me curiously "Not that I'm not happy to see you again, Angel. What is this about?"

I closed the door behind me "You know, I heard something curious today. Something that doesn't quite add up."

"And what would that be?" the warlock raised an eyebrow, putting his phone down on the bedside table.

"Nik told me about some kind of curse that he needs a Doppelgänger for," I started, watching his face closely "For some funny reason, Elijah – Nik's brother – is here and he had something to do with my sister's kidnapping. Bit of a weird coincidence, no? Then I hear about this evil Klaus guy as well…"

Maddox sat up and stared at me wide-eyed "What do you want from me?"

"I just want to know what's going on," I sighed, running a hand through my hair "I know it has something to do with Nik but I don't know what."

"Oh, he's going to kill me for this," the warlock groaned, running a hand through his hair.

I snorted "He hasn't killed you for the failed spy operation… Why would he do so now?"

Maddox sighed "Nik… Nik is Klaus. His full name is Niklaus."

"What?" I murmured "So, wait. Nik – my Nik – is supposed to be the Klaus who everyone is afraid of?"

"Basically."

I tilted my head "Why exactly does he need my sister? I don't believe this Sun and the Moon shit."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're way too smart?" Maddox questioned, looking up at me "Klaus is a Hybrid. His mother put a curse on him shortly after him and his siblings were turned into vampires. It put a lock on his werewolf side and he wants to get rid of it. Klaus' mother used the former Doppelgänger's blood to bind the curse. That's why he needs your sister."

"That's why he asked me about Elena," I muttered, running a hand through my hair "Okay… I think – I think I got it now. Elena is the Doppelgänger of Katherine who was the Doppelgänger of the person Nik's mother used to bind his werewolf side… To break said curse he needs to sacrifice Elena, a vampire and a werewolf… Did I forget anything?"

"The moonstone," Maddox pointed out.

I reached into my pocket "You mean this?" I had kept the stone safe even though Damon had wanted to hide it somewhere. In the end, he agreed that it was better if I keep it hidden with magic "I found it a while ago… It was a bit of a surprise to find a moonstone practically radiating magic…"

"How do you –?" the warlock trailed off.

"It doesn't matter," I told him "I will give this to Damon in a bit. It's actually a copy of the real thing… Apparently, Elijah wants to keep a hold of it or whatever. Since there are werewolves in town I think that would actually be safer."

The man blinked "Where's the real stone?"

"I keep it hidden. It's not much of a secret if I tell you, is it?" I teased.

"Fine," he huffed "There's just one thing I need to know… Will you help Klaus with the ritual?"

I bit my lip in thought "I won't hand over my sister but I also won't stay in his way. He waited over a thousand years to break this curse… It would be mean to stand in his way now. Once he comes to town, I promise I'll give him the moonstone and I also might know a vampire who would be more than appropriate for the ritual."

"Who?"

"Katherine," I smirked "She's currently locked into the tomb under the church… I would have probably liked her – better than my sister in any case but she hurt my aunt, my brother, my uncle and Damon. She manipulated my aunt's friend and a person I have known for years… Plus, she threatened to hurt my family. I don't take lightly to that."

Maddox hummed "Well, that's an idea. From what I've heard Katerina is on both Klaus' and Elijah's bad sides."

"Speaking of Elijah… What does he want here?" I frowned.

"That… I don't know," the warlock murmured "But I fell like it's not going to be good at all."

I hummed and glanced down at my phone when it vibrated ' **Need you to head to the Boarding House if possible. Rose is with Elena and I'm out.** '

' **Be there soon. I'll do my best. Promise,** ' I texted back "Sorry, Maddox. I'm needed. Thank you for telling me though. I appreciate it."

"Where are you going?" he questioned.

I shrugged "The Boarding House. A friend of Damon was bitten by a werewolf and he asked me to see whether there's anything I could do…"

Maddox frowned "What do you mean?"

"Sorry," I grinned "We're not that close. Thanks again, Maddox. See you around." I waved at him and left the room and ultimately the second Boarding House of Mystic Falls.

Twenty minutes later, I was standing in front of the Boarding House, debating on what to do with Elena. There was no doubt that my sister would get annoyed if I ask her to leave… Maybe I could try and put her to sleep without her noticing? That seemed like a moderately good idea…

I knocked on the front door and entered quietly. Now, if I were a dying vampire where would I be? I glanced up the stairs… Damon's room. Definitely Damon's room. I hesitated outside the door when I heard my sister's voice. Before I showed myself, I closed my eyes and reached out with my magic, basically knocking Elena out in a way that only the vampire would be aware of. Once she was out, I slid in "Hello. You must be Rose."

The woman blinked at me "You're Angel, right? Damon told me a lot about you."

I smiled at her "Yup. I hope he only told you the good things."

"Somewhat," she teased and then let out a pain-filled groan.

"Alright," I clapped my hands "Listen, Damon asked me to see whether I could do anything about that wound of yours. Could you sit up and take off your shirt?"

Rose looked at me for a moment "Do you know what you're doing?"

"Nope," I shook my head "But I'm the best chance you have right now."

"That's good enough for me," the vampire shrugged and then froze when her shoulder gave a sharp twinge of pain.

I knelt on the bed behind her and grimaced at the sight of the wound "Ouch," I winced "Okay, this could hurt a little bit." I hovered my hand over the wound, making sure not to touch anything and closed my eyes in concentration. My magic reached out and tried to analyze the bite as best as I could. Nothing… There was nothing. According to my magic, she was dead… Well, dead-er.

"And?" Rose murmured after I leaned back "Can you do anything?"

"I –" I trailed off, tears springing into my eyes "I don't know… I mean, I… My magic doesn't… I'm sorry."

The vampire sighed sadly and turned around "Don't be. It's not your fault."

"But I should have." A tear slipped from my eyes "I really am sorry." I jumped to my feet "Elena should wake up in a bit… I have to go."

"Angel," Rose called out behind me but I was already down the stairs and out of the door.

I slid into the car and rested my head on the steering wheel, letting the tears run freely. Why? My magic hadn't disappointed me much until now. Why couldn't I heal her? I barely noticed when my phone started ringing and I answered it "Huh?"

" _Angel?_ " Nik's voice filtered through the phone " _Are you… What happened?_ "

"I – I can't help her, Nik," I whispered, wiping at my wet cheeks "She's still dying."

" _Who, Little Red?_ "

I sniffled "Rose."

" _Rose-Marie?_ " His voice turned shocked " _Angel_ … _What happened?_ "

"Some werewolf bit her," I told him quietly "I tried to help but my magic doesn't recognize the venom…"

There was silence on the other end of the line before Nik sighed " _Listen, love. I have to take care of something but I will call you later. Is that alright?_ "

"Yes," I mumbled "Sure."

**Omake**

Maddox sighed when Angel left the room. He turned to the phone he had put down earlier "I assume you heard that, didn't you?"

"I did," Klaus told him and hummed thoughtfully "I knew that she felt something for me… But I didn't know that…"

"She loves you," the warlock pointed out quietly "Hell, she didn't even care when I told her about the ritual."

The Original bit his lip "You really think so?"

"I do. And I hope you don't plan on using her," Maddox murmured.

Klaus' voice turned icy "Do you really think I would do that?"

"No," Maddox shook his head "I don't think so. Just wanted to make sure though… She's a nice girl."

"That she is," the vampire agreed "That she is… Thank you for talking to her, Maddox. I believe I should be coming to Mystic Falls within the next two months. There are some things I have to take care of."

Maddox sat down on his bed and looked at the small device he had put on speaker when Angel came in. He knew that technically he shouldn't have done that but Klaus needed to know "Will you tell Angel?"

"I will. Goodbye, Maddox."


	35. 2x13 Daddy Issues

"Angel," Maddox called from behind me. It was the day after he told me about Nik – or Klaus… No, he was still Nik and would always be Nik to me.

I stopped and turned "What's up?"

The warlock shoved a small vial into my hands "Klaus told me about the vampire… The one you tried to help. This vial is the cure. Get that to her as fast as you can, okay?"

"How – How did you get that?" I stuttered, staring up at him in confusion and shock.

"I can't tell you that," he admitted "Now hurry."

I took one last long look at his face before I ran back to my car with Hero hot on my heels. Shopping didn't matter right now… I had the chance to save Rose, to save someone I failed to save before. Once I started the car, I quickly dialled Damon's number " _Angel? Shouldn't you_ _still be in bed_ _?_ "

"Forget about that for a moment," I snapped "I – I think I found the cure for Rose."

" _Are you kidding?_ " the vampire gasped " _How? Where?"_

I shook my head with a small sigh "I can't tell you. Sorry, Day. I'm almost at the Boarding House."

" _I'll see you then. Just come up to my room, alright?_ "

"Of course," I agreed, speeding up a bit more. It only took me five minutes to finish the journey to the Boarding House and once I was there, I jumped out, leaving the driver's door open for Hero to hop out after me. The vial was clutched in my hand when I ran inside as fast as I could "Here," I panted, shoving the little vial at Damon.

"Are you sure this is it?" he questioned doubtfully.

I rolled my eyes "No. But it's our only chance. What harm can it do, Damon?"

"Give it to me," Rose croaked. I looked at her and smiled lightly. She looked awful… Bags under her eyes and her skin was paler than a hospital's wall. I handed the small vial over and watched as she gulped it down quickly. It only took a minute but she looked healthier and actually sat up "I'm thirsty."

Damon stared at her in shock "I'll – I'll get you something. Give me a moment." He flashed out and was back within a minute with several blood bags "Here. Let me see your shoulder. It worked… It really worked…" The Salvatore grabbed his little sister's shoulders and shook her lightly "Where did you get that from?"

"What – What does it matter?" I stuttered, not wanting to tell him about who Nik was. It wasn't any of his business. Not yet…

"Damon," Rose murmured "Let her go. It's alright." Then he looked up at me with a smile "Thank you, Angel. You should go home now, okay?"

I nodded and carefully skirted around Damon. He had never scared me before but the look in his eyes… I was really scared of him for a moment… "Bye, Damon," I breathed and ran outside, back to my car.

"Morning," Uncle John greeted when I walked into the kitchen.

I startled, staring at my uncle in surprise for a moment before throwing myself at him "Uncle John! When did you get here?"

"Last night. Elena let me in," he replied, ruffling my hair "Pearl is here as well. She decided to stay in the hotel a town over."

"So you two are still an item then?" I waggled my eyebrows.

He pinched my side "How is your soon-to-be-dead not boyfriend? Nik, was it?"

I blushed and looked down "He's fine."

"Made it official then, did you?"

"I am not talking to you about that," I attempted and breathed a sigh of relief when Elena stormed into the kitchen.

My sister glared at her father "What are you doing here?"

"Coffee?" Uncle John offered with a sheepish smile.

"We're not doing this," Elena spat "We did that last night. No more avoiding. Why are you here?"

That was when I decided to gracefully retreat. The situation was really none of my business… I almost ran into Ric when I made my way up the stairs quickly "Woah," he laughed "Where's the fire?"

"Nothing," I shook my head "It's nothing. I should get ready."

Later that day, I met up with Maddox again. She felt like spending some time with the warlock. He was quite interesting and they were friends after all. Although today, they spoke mostly about Elijah and what he would bring with him to the town.

"There are two warlocks here," Maddox told me, pouring himself a drink.

I blinked "They with Elijah then?"

"I should think so. From what I saw they're Greta's brother and father," the warlock snorted.

"That witch who's working with Nik?" I questioned with a puzzled frown. I had seen her once somewhere in town but Nik had shooed her away only a second after she tried to talk to him about something.

Maddox nodded "That one."

My stomach grumbled lightly and I glared down "Wanna come to the Grill with me? I'm hungry."

"I am too," the man laughed, before getting up. He bowed jokingly and held out his arm "Care to join me for food, milady?"

"Why thank you, good sir," I smiled, walking out of his room by his side.

When I got out my keys, he snatched them from my hand "I'll drive."

"It's my car," I argued "Why can't I drive?"

"Tough," Maddox smirked and lightly pushed me to get into the passenger side.

At the Grill, I made a beeline for the table Aunt Jenna and Ric were sitting at, just catching the tail-end of Aunt Jenna's rambling "Elena is my sister's husband's brother's daughter and her mother is my boyfriend's deceased wife. You can't make this stuff up."

"No, but you can get used to it," I called, resting a hand on her shoulder gently.

"Angel?" she frowned in confusion "What are you doing here?"

I shrugged "I was hungry and came here with a friend." I pointed to the dark-haired warlock "Maddox, my Aunt Jenna and my History teacher Alaric. Guys, that's Maddox."

"Hello," the warlock waved awkwardly.

"So, er, where did you two meet?" Alaric questioned suspiciously.

I raised my eyebrow "Got a problem with this, Ric?"

"He's a bit old to be hanging around a teenage girl," my teacher pointed out.

"Oh, that's rich coming from you. Maddox is less of a pervert than Damon. Trust me on that… Almost everyone is."

Jenna squeezed Ric's hand "He seems like an okay guy," she looked at me "And it's not like Angel is interested in anyone but that guy she's always texting and calling."

Maddox put a hand on my shoulder and leaned to whisper into my ear "Does everyone know about you and Nik?"

"Well, once they noticed that I was texting a guy they didn't let up," I shrugged helplessly "It's getting really annoying actually."

"That's because you were never interested in anyone," Jenna called over and I stuck out my tongue at her.

Maddox and I spent the next several hours in the Grill, talking and joking. It was only when I saw Caroline that I excused myself "Give me a minute, Maddox. I have to talk to Caroline for a second." The warlock nodded and I got up to run after the girl who I hadn't seen since just after she turned "Caroline."

The blonde stopped "Angel? What do you want?"

I smiled a bit "Just wanted to ask how you were. I haven't seen you in a while… Is everything alright? You know with your mom and the whole fang-y business?"

She laughed "Fang-y business?" I shrugged helplessly "No, I'm alright. More or less. I'm getting used to living the vampire life."

"Excuse me," a woman's voice called from behind us "Caroline, right?"

I blinked at the woman as Care nodded hesitantly "Yeah."

"I'm looking for Tyler. You haven't seen him, have you?"

Caroline shook her head "No, not since earlier. Sorry." She made to open her car door, throwing me a pointed look 'Go' she mouthed.

I glanced at the woman again and took a step back, feeling the danger from her "Sorry. A friend is waiting for me… inside." When I went to walk past, the woman's arm shot out, grasping my wrist tightly. What? What was she? I grimaced when she squeezed tighter, almost breaking my wrist in the progress "Let go of me," I hissed out.

"Shut up," the woman spat, shoving me away. I stumbled, only to be caught by someone who was hiding in the shadows. He – and it was most definitely a he – quickly covered my mouth "I know you're lying," the woman said to the blonde vampire.

Caroline laughed "Really? How? Is that one of your little wolf tricks?"

"Actually," the werewolf smirked "It is."

"Well, I have a trick too," the blonde revealed, vamping out. She didn't get to do anything because the woman sprayed her with vervain spray. Caroline healed quickly and made to attack but the man who was holding me raised an arm and shot her point blank in the head.

I screamed silently and struggled against the man harder "What should I do with her?" the man questioned, picking me up and carrying me forward, still struggling fruitlessly.

"Take her," the woman waved off "If that's who I think it is then the vampires care about her. We can use her, Brady." She stalked closer to me "You are Angel, aren't you?"

Brady groaned "Enough talking. Let's get going." He hit the back of my head against one of the trees, making the world fade into black. When I woke up, I was lying in a cage in what appeared to be a CV. I shifted and found my hands tied behind my back "You're awake," Brady smirked and then shrugged "Well, you woke up fast than the vampire bitch over there."

I raised my head and looked into the direction the werewolf gestured in "Caroline," I whispered, looking at the hole in her head in concern "What did you do?"

"I shot her," he shot back emotionlessly "Wanna try it?" Brady cocked the gun and pointed it at me. At that moment, I heard a loud thump from outside, followed by a scream "What was that?"

The door was ripped from its hinges and a very familiar face entered "Maddox," I breathed in relief.

Within a second, Brady was on the floor, dead and the warlock stalked over to me "Can't leave you alone for one minute, can I?"

"Sorry," I shrugged sheepishly, bending my head to look at him awkwardly "Can you help Care?"

"Klaus would kill me," Maddox muttered but freed the waking vampire first. He ripped off the vervain ropes "Are you alright?" Caroline screamed a little, trying to dig the bullet out of her head. Maddox sighed a little and crouched down next to her "Hold still. I'll get it out."

Caroline looked up at my warlock friend "Thank you." The blonde's gaze drifted to me and she gasped "Angel. I'm so sorry."

"It's fine, Care," I told her quietly "I'm fine… I think."

Maddox untied the ropes around my arms and scooped me up from the floor "And now we're gonna go and call Nik, aren't we?"

"No," I whined "Come on, Maddox… Please don't tell him?"

"Sorry, girly but we can't do that."

Caroline raised an eyebrow "Who's Nik?"

I blushed lightly "My boyfriend." Then I patted Maddox's shoulder "Put me down? Thank you?"

"You have a boyfriend?" the blonde tilted her head.

"Yeah," I nodded "Met him in New York… Hey, what are we doing with the werewolves?"

Maddox blinked and scratched the back of his head "Er… well… I'll lock away the main bitch somewhere… The others? Don't know. Just leave them."

I held out my hand to my sister's friend "How about we go get ice cream while Maddox takes care of this mess, hm?"

"I'm in," Care laughed, pulling me along.

"Don't think you're getting out of telling Nik," Maddox called after us. I flipped him off and continued walking off.

We stopped by the supermarket on our way back to where I parked my car at the Grill. Just when we were about to get in, a voice called out "Angel! Caroline!"

"Damon," I smiled, hugging the vampire tightly.

"I heard about what happened," he murmured into my hair "Are the two of you alright?"

Caroline nodded a bit "Yeah. This warlock saved us... What was his name?"

"Jonas?" Damon frowned.

I shook my head "No. It was a friend of mine, Maddox."

Damon tilted my head up "You trust him?"

"Yeah," I murmured, burrowing my head in his chest.

"Can you keep the others away for a while?" Caroline questioned, pulling me away from the older Salvatore "I think we need a bit of time."

The older vampire shrugged "I can't promise but I'll try. Where are you going?"

"Hanging out at Angel's," the blonde told him "Stuffing our faces with ice cream."


	36. 2x14 Crying Wolf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this took so long. I'll try to do better but I was busy and then I forgot to update on AO3. Just an average Thursday...

The day after Maddox saved Caroline and me, I stumbled downstairs into the kitchen, only to run into Alaric "Angel," he greeted with a smile "How are you?"

I eyed him suspiciously. Did Damon tell him? "Why?"

"Because you look like you haven't slept," the man pointed out, slightly surprised at my tone "Did something happen?"

My shoulders slumped and I sighed, running a hand over my face "No, everything's just fine. Sorry about that."

"Don't worry. Hey, I was on my way to the Boarding House. Wanna tag along?" my aunt's boyfriend offered.

"Sure," I nodded "Just let me get changed."

Alaric's head shot up "Don't forget to take a dress for the Tea Party thingy. Jenna said that Carol wanted you there."

I blinked "Right… That's today?"

"Yes," my History teacher nodded, looking at me in concern "Are you sure that you're alright?"

"Yes, yes," I waved off "I'm just peachy. Excuse me…" I quickly ran up the stairs, changing my clothes and finding the dress that I wanted to wear. It was one that I bought in New York with Nik… He actually selected it. The dress was a deep blue at the bottom and it had a lace corset part at the top "Done," I breathed, gasping for air when I was standing in front of Ric ten minutes later.

Alaric blinked a few times "Huh. Well, you're faster than Jenna, that's for sure."

I rolled my eyes "Everyone is faster than Aunt Jenna. She takes ages to get ready."

"Too true," the man laughed and opened the door for me "Come on."

The car ride to the Boarding House was silent. I was staring out of the window, thinking about Nik again. Maddox probably told him about what happened yesterday, so I'm not really looking forward to the next phone call I would be getting. One good thing that came out of the whole kidnapping situation was that Nik now had a werewolf to use for his ritual. I wasn't too sure about the others but as long as they didn't bother anyone I couldn't care less. Actually, I wanted to stay as far away from them as I possibly could.

I slid out of the passenger side, following Alaric up to the front door. He was about to knock when the door was opened, revealing Damon and a woman… I had seen her before… Wasn't she the newswoman? She took over for Logan Fell a while ago. Damon smirked down at the woman "Have a great day, honey." He leaned down to kiss her.

"Oh," the woman blinked when she saw us "Hey, Alaric. Later." I turned my head to look after her, not too insulted that she ignored me.

Damon looked at us with a small, triumphant grin "My new girlfriend. Andie Star, action news."

"It's not called action news," Ric mumbled in annoyance, walking past the vampire into the house.

Damon snorted "I know. I just like saying it. Hey, Angel. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, Damon," I muttered, letting myself be drawn into his embrace. Except for Caroline and Maddox, he was the only one who knew that I was in the werewolves clutches as well. Jeremy was mostly busy with school and Anna now – not that I blamed him. I was glad that he had someone who took care of him and the other way around. I think that there was a good chance that Jeremy would move in with Uncle John once he went back to Denver.

Alaric looked from Damon down to me and back again "Seriously. What happened?"

"It's nothing," I waved off, falling onto one of the couches with a small sigh. Last night had been a bit rough. Even with Caroline there, I had nightmares but for the most part, I could keep them quiet.

Damon sighed and poured himself a drink. He wouldn't tell Alaric if I didn't want him to and that I could honour "Anyway, someone gave me this to kill Elijah." The vampire unrolled the dagger from its protective cloth "Said you have to dip the dagger in the remains of an old white ash tree that dates back to the Originals if there's any truth in that."

He handed the dagger to the other man who frowned "So you think it's a setup?"

"Could be," Damon shrugged "It's Katherine… Wouldn't put anything past her."

"I think the dagger actually works," I spoke up "Not too sure on the how and why but it should work…" Nik told me about the daggers that he kept in most of his siblings. They were made by some Hunters centuries ago to kill the Originals. Only they didn't work on Nik since he wasn't a pure vampire. I didn't care much for the details… Not yet in any case. If the Hybrid wanted to tell me, he would. In his own time. I wasn't the girlfriend who wanted to know everything. If he kept me in the loop, I'd be happy and if not then I trusted him enough to not harm my family.

Damon hummed "Alright… Then they work." He looked down at the silver dagger "What are you two up to today?"

"Well, Jenna and I were supposed to go to her family's Lake House but somehow, we both got roped into doing this Historical Society thing at the Lockwoods'," Alaric explained.

I nodded "Carol wants to show me off. After all, I'm one of Mystic Falls' celebrities now… Also, she wants me to be part of the Council. Not that I will join anytime soon. Uncle John is the one who deals with all of this…"

"So you're both going to be at the party where Elijah's the guest of honour," the vampire smirked.

Ric groaned "Tell me you're not gonna kill him at the tea party."

"No," Damon denied instantly "That would be stupid." I let out a short laugh. Damon was known to do stupid things. While he might not be in love with Elena, he still wanted Stefan to be happy. That would only happen if Elena was safe, so in default, Damon had to protect Elena at least somewhat. It wasn't the reason he wanted Elijah gone though. At least, I didn't think it was the reason. The Original was dangerous and Damon wasn't sure whether to trust the peace or not. In his experience, older vampires weren't known for being nice… That's what he told me "I want to know his endgame before I kill him but I do think it's time Elijah and I officially met."

Alaric glared at Damon in annoyance but left shortly after, leaving me with the vampire. I ran a hand down the dress that was lying next to me and sighed "Do you think it's a good idea?"

"Elijah is dangerous," Damon insisted "He has to die."

I shook my head "That's not what I meant. I was talking about Andie Star."

"It's just a bit of fun," the vampire muttered.

"I'm not telling you to stop, Damon," I sighed, tugging at my hair "I'm saying that you should be careful. She's a pretty public figure and when someone sees… Just promise me that you'll be careful?"

The Salvatore smiled a bit "I should have known," he replied fondly "You never tried to change me before."

I looked up at him in shock "Why would I do that? You're my best friend slash older brother. I like you for you, Day. You're a vampire and that's in your nature. I don't care as long as you don't get hurt… I don't want you to get hurt."

"Thank you, Angel," he whispered, drawing me into a tight hug.

We sat in silence for another while before we got changed. Well, I got changed. Damon only put on his leather jacket, while I quickly put on the dress, braiding my hair into an inverted fishtail.

At the Lockwoods' Mansion, I was leaning on Damon's arm a bit when Jenna came up to us "Angel. There you are… Mrs. Lockwood already asked for you."

"She's really trying to show me off, isn't she?" I groaned, hiding my face in the vampire's leather-clad arm.

"I'm afraid so. Now… Go and greet her, would you?" Aunt Jenna commanded, shooing me off in the direction of the older woman.

I glared at her and Damon who was laughing at me before I made my way to where Carol was conversing with Elijah "Hello, Carol… Elijah."

"Angel," the woman smiled, hugging me briefly "You two already met?"

"When I came home from New York," I nodded "Aunt Jenna was looking for the journals."

Carol smiled "Ah, how was New York?"

"Good," I replied "They loved the paintings again."

"Angel here is an amazing artist. In fact, the picture here was painted by her," Carol told Elijah with a smile.

I closed my eyes for a moment. Why? Why did she have to brag about that so much? I already had several people asking me to paint them something. Most of the Founding Families were on that list. Thanks to Carol, I'd actually have to do those. Not that I didn't enjoy painting but they wanted to have them as soon as possible which I wouldn't do… "It's nothing," I waved off "A hobby that I can make money with."

It was then that Damon approached us. The woman looked up and smiled "Damon." She leaned forward to peck his cheek in greeting.

"Carol," he greeted with a grin.

"Hi," she nodded "Elijah, I want you to meet Damon Salvatore. His family is one of Mystic Falls' Founding Families."

Damon nodded with fake interest in his eyes "Hm. Such a pleasure to meet you."

"No," the Original smiled tightly "Pleasure's mine."

I rolled my eyes at their 'manly exchange' and looked around, hoping for an escape. When my eyes fell on my uncle, I quietly excused myself, slipping over to John. I didn't stop until I wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my head in his chest "Hello, uncle."

"What's wrong?" he asked immediately.

I just shook my head "It's been a shitty few days. I'm fine though."

He looked down at me with knowing eyes "You know that you could always come to live with me, right? You don't have to stay here."

"That's not it," I sighed "It… Something happened yesterday and I don't want to talk about it."

"If it has shaken you up this badly, then it might be better for you to tell someone," John murmured, tilting my head up "You don't have to hide from us. I told you this when you were a child and I'll tell you now."

I blinked away the tears and shook my head "It's nothing… Not important."

"Fine," he relented "If you won't talk about that, would you mind telling me what Damon is doing with Elijah?"

I craned my neck to look at whatever he was looking at, only to see Damon leading Elijah to Mr. Lockwood's study "He's getting himself killed."

"You don't sound very sure in his abilities," my uncle teased.

I snorted out a laugh "That's because Damon has the habit to go against people who are stronger than him. It's his choice though and I won't interfere as long as it doesn't hurt anyone."

"Probably a good thing," he grinned before glancing down at his watch.

"You have somewhere to be?" I questioned curiously, seeing his startled and slightly panicked look.

Uncle John nodded "I have a date with Pearl in ten minutes…"

"Then hurry." I shooed him away "I heard that girls or women don't like it if you're late."

"Of course you're the exception?"

I nodded sagely "If you have a good reason why you're late then sure."

He rolled his eyes and pressed a short kiss to my forehead "You know how to reach me if you want to talk. I love you, kid."

"Love you too," I smiled, watching him hurry away. It didn't take too long until Damon appeared, pulling me away from the people and out of the door. Only outside did I really notice the fact that he was clutching a bloody handkerchief to his neck "What happened?" I pulled the cloth to the side to see an almost healed stab wound.

Damon hissed when I ran my finger over the mark lightly "Mr. Smith didn't appreciate my manners apparently."

"Told you so," Alaric spoke up from behind us.

"There's no time for that," the vampire grumbled, pulling me along again "I need a drink. You coming?"

My History teacher sighed "Sure. But only for a bit. I have a date with Jenna."

I looked at him "Why does everyone have a date tonight? That's so unfair."

"Well, because their significant others don't live in New York," Damon pointed out "Why don't you call him later?"

I shrugged "I doubt he's going to be happy about the fact that I was kidnapped by werewolves yesterday."

"You were what?!" Ric exclaimed.

"Damn," I winced, realizing what I just said "It's nothing… Please don't tell Aunt Jenna?"

Alaric glared at me "Fine. I won't tell her. I'll tell John."

"No," I shouted "Don't… Please? I got out, didn't I?"

"Is that why you've been acting weirdly all day?" the teacher questioned.

I shrugged, looking at my feet "I felt like hugs today. The feeling is rare enough… Can we go now? I don't want to talk about it." As soon as we reached the Boarding House, I excused myself to change out of my dress and into one of Damon's shirts I nicked from his closet. For some reason, Nik's shirts were way more comfortable than my own. Same with Damon's and Jeremy's… Well, I wouldn't complain in any way. Before I went back downstairs, I leaned against the wall, closing my eyes tiredly. I hadn't meant for Alaric to find out about what happened with the werewolves. If Uncle John ever finds out about what happened, he wouldn't take no for an answer. He would definitely take me to Denver with him, no matter what I thought about it.

I jumped when a loud crash sounded from downstairs. It was followed by several more until I heard a body hit the ground and a quiet voice "Whew. Damn, you're strong… It took the whole syringe." I recognized the voice. That was one of the werewolf pack. What was he doing here? "Grab that one. He's dead." He wasn't alone? Dammit… What to do? I couldn't make any noise because they're wolves… Wolves. That's it. I retreated a few silent steps and took a deep breath. After a couple more, I could slowly feel my body changing into my animagus form. I crept down the stairs carefully, practically crawling into the parlor, surveying the scene. Alaric was dead on the ground, while Damon was unconscious and tied to a chair with heavy chains. I growled when one of the werewolves – Stevie, I believe – was about to put a collar around the vampire's neck. With one quick lunge, I was on top of his, snarling in his face. No one hurts my family and lives. No one.

"What?" Damon's groggy voice distracted me for a short moment. It was enough for the werewolf to throw me off and into a wall.

"Morning, sunshine," Stevie grinned ferally, stepping closer to Damon "What did you do with Jules, hm?"

The vampire blinked sluggishly, eyes drifting to me "I have no idea what you're talking about. I haven't seen the psycho bitch." Stevie moved quickly and thrust one of the pokers into Damon's stomach, causing him to groan.

I shook off the daze from the hit and immediately launched myself at the werewolf again, this time actually biting down. Suddenly, I smelt the scent of vampire – older, stronger vampire and backed off "I heard you're looking for the girl," Elijah spoke up, a teasing smirk on his lips.

"What do you know?" Stevie groaned, holding the wound on his neck.

"More than you," the Original said. One of the wolves used his speed to rush towards the old vampire but Elijah being Elijah, plunges his hand into the wolf's chest to rip out his heart.

While he was taking care of the pack, I crawled towards Ric, my belly touching the rough carpet on the floor as I whined. I carefully forced my nose into the man's hand, hoping for some kind of response. A whimper left my throat when Alaric didn't wake up. Elijah was talking to Damon in the background but I ignored it, focusing on my aunt's boyfriend. Alaric was wearing the Gilbert Ring but that didn't mean anything. He was still dead and I hated it. I hated the fact that I couldn't protect the people I saw as family. It made me feel weak. Why did I have magic if it didn't work when I needed it? Some buried feelings bubbled up inside of me. Anger at myself, at the magic that was running through my veins. If I was so powerful, then why couldn't I defend myself against Vernon? Why did I just let him hurt me?

I jumped when a gentle hand touched my head "Easy," Damon soothed, running his hand through my fur. I looked up to see that Elijah had gone, leaving the dead werewolf pack in the parlor with us "Where did you come from, hm?" I jumped up at him playfully before taking a couple of steps back. Within a minute, I was a human again, shaking out my limbs "Angel?!"

"Hey, Damon," I smiled sheepishly.

"Since when can you turn into a wolf?" he questioned in surprise.

I shrugged "Not too long… I just got it down before I left for New York." I stopped and looked at him "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," the vampire nodded "Thank you."

"I didn't do anything."

Damon ruffled my hair "You did. You do more than you think, Angel. Just…" He shook his head "Never mind. How about I get you home? Maybe sleeping beauty will be awake until I'm back."

"Alright," I whispered.

**Omake**

Klaus was standing over one of the coffins that held his family. His sister to be specific. After what Maddox told him, he didn't want him to be the only one to look out for his girl. Angel – whether she wanted it or not – was a danger magnet. She constantly got into situations where she could die and he hated it. He hated not being there for her but there were some things that he had to take care of first. One of his witches had told him that she could find Mikael and the Hybrid wanted to get rid of him before he joined his girlfriend in Mystic Falls.

"What?" Rebekah breathed, opening her eyes in confusion. Once her gaze fell on Nik and the coffin, she hissed in anger "You bastard. How long?"

"Ninety years, sister," Niklaus murmured, looking down at her with regret in his eyes "I – I'm sorry."

The youngest Mikaelson blinked. She hadn't expected her brother to be the one to undagger her and she certainly didn't expect him to actually apologize "Who are you and what have you done with Nik?" she couldn't help but tease.

Klaus glowered at her without any heat before he sighed "There's a Doppelgänger."

"Are you serious?" the blonde gaped "That's amazing, Nik."

"I know," he smiled, helping his younger sister out of the coffin "There's just something you need to do for me if that's alright?"

Rebekah's eyes widened "You're actually asking me? What changed you so much?"

"An incredibly understanding person," he told her, eyes lighting up as soon as he thought of Angel. She really was perfect. The people who thought differently weren't worthy of her presence "I'm close to finding Mikael and I don't want to risk him coming after us. Could you go to Mystic Falls and try to get close to her?"

Rebekah considered it for a moment "If you take me shopping for clothes, I will. For you."

"Thank you, sister. I really do appreciate it."

"You must tell me about the girl who got through to you. She must be an amazing person to put up with you," the blonde girl teased.

Niklaus rolled his eyes "She is. She really is."


	37. 2x15 The Dinner Party

"Do I really have to come on that stupid tour, Aunt Jenna?" I sighed, pulling on my leather jacket. I had been working on paintings the entire night because I was a bit scared to go to sleep and Jay wasn't home "I don't really want anything to do with this. We already established that Elijah isn't interested in writing a book."

Jenna shrugged "He still wants a tour and Carol told me to do what he wants," she murmured "Come on, it won't be that bad."

"You're saying that now," I complained but followed her out of the door and to her car. I really didn't feel like doing anything today but as always, my aunt continued to make decisions for me. Not that I minded too much but it was still a bit annoying. In the car, I curled up on the backseat with Hero and Blue lying on my lap. Today, I was taking out both of them, since I haven't been out with them yet and this was the best opportunity I had.

"Hello, Elijah," Jenna greeted with a small smile. I looked at her incredulously. Was she seriously flirting with Nik's older brother? That was a bit weird. I leaned against a tree a few feet away from them, pulling out my phone ' **My aunt's flirting with your brother. It's weird.** '

' **At least you seem to be having more fun than me.** ' The answer came immediately, making me wonder what he was doing that was so boring ' **I'm shopping with my sister.** '

I breathed in sharply ' **You undaggered her?** '

' **Yes,** ' he replied ' **And I'm regretting every second of it.** '

' **I'm sure it's not that bad,** ' I typed quickly, glancing up at my aunt's knowing look "What?" I asked defensively.

She shook her head with a smile "It's just interesting to see how happy you are when you write with this guy."

"Is that a problem?"

"Not at all," Aunt Jenna said "You changed so much in the last few months. To be better that is. I'm really happy for you."

I nodded with a small grin "Thank you." I glanced at Elijah "Sorry for that. My aunt is a bit of a… sap."

Jenna gasped, a hand to her heart "I am not."

"Face it," I snorted, glancing down at my phone when it buzzed ' **We have so far been to twenty clothing stores and Bekah is still complaining about the style.** '

' **Yeah, I guess it's a bit different from the 20s…** '

I bit my lip to keep from chuckling at the exasperated emoji he sent back ' **I'm this close on giving up on shopping with her. You weren't nearly this complicated.** '

' **Maybe because I'm no thousand-year-old vampire…** **That's something you don't say often.** '

I walked after Jenna and Elijah when they started walking towards the old Fell property. I wasn't too interested in what my aunt was saying since I knew most of it. Hero and Blue were running around my feet happily, chasing each other. I shook my head at them. They were still puppies at heart, no matter how old they actually were.

' **Are you Nik's girlfriend?** ' I blinked down at the message and smirked in amusement. Rebekah must have somehow gotten the phone off of her brother. Maybe he annoyed her with paying more attention to it than her? That's something that I could see happening.

I tilted my head in thought ' **I'd say so, yes. Pleasure to meet you, Rebekah.** '

' **You're good. What's your name? How old are you? How do y…** ' The message cut off abruptly and I smiled when I got another message a minute later ' **Sorry about that, little Red. She stole my phone.** '

"Angel," Aunt Jenna called out "Come on. I think I need your help with this."

' **It's fine. Have to go now… My aunt needs help. I'm sorry about the werewolf thing… I should have been the one to tell you but I was…** '

' **Don't worry about it. I understand it, even if I don't necessarily like to hear about that from Maddox. I'm just happy that you're alright.** ' Nik replied and I slid my phone into my pocket, rejoining the Original and my aunt "What's up?"

"Where does the old Fell property start again?" Jenna questioned with a sheepish smile "I forgot."

I sighed and pointed to the fence in front of us "Over there. The property starts just beyond that fence."

"Ah," Elijah smirked "The Fells. One of the Founding Families."

Jenna tilted her head "Why do you say it like that?"

"They didn't found anything," I cut in "This area was settled centuries before they came here."

The Original nodded "Exactly. It was a migration of townsfolk from the northeast, um, it was Salem, to be precise."

"Well, I bet it was the men who made a big deal about being founders back in 1860," Jenna laughed "Men are very territorial."

I snorted when she said that because it was the exact same moment I saw Ric walking up to us. My snort turned into a small chuckle when Elijah nodded in agreement "Yes, they are."

Jenna turned around and glowered at her boyfriend "Elijah, this is my friend, Alaric Saltzman."

"Yeah," Ric smiled tensely "I got your message about walking Elijah here through the old property lines. I thought I would tag along… You know, being a history buff and all. Where to next?"

Elijah sized the other man up "I'm pretty curious about the freed slave property owners. Some say, you know, the descendants of the slaves are the true keepers of American history."

Jenna looked at him and then back to Ric and sighed soundlessly "I got that list in the car. Just give me a second." She turned around and walked back to her car but not before throwing me a look that said 'keep them out of trouble'.

"Alaric Saltzman," Elijah spoke up "So you're one of those people on Elena's list of loved ones to protect… Curiously, her sister is not on that list."

They looked at me and I just shrugged, not willing to say anything on that matter. On one hand, I wasn't too surprised but it still hurt that Elena didn't care about me at all. I stumbled back when Blue used the opportunity to jump up at me "Blue," I scolded, trying to get the heavy dog off of me.

Ric looked down at me and grinned "Need a hand, Angel?"

"Shut up and help me," I pleaded, trying to avoid the Border Collie's lolling tongue "Gross. Blue…" When he finally helped me up – of course, not before snapping a picture – we walked after Elijah and Jenna quietly. They were mostly talking about stuff that no one would be interested in any way.

About halfway through, Ric leaned down "Hey, want me to take you to the Grill?"

"You're bored, aren't you?" I smirked playfully.

"Yes," he nodded and threw me a pleading look.

I rolled my eyes "Fine," I mumbled, faking a bit of a stumble "Aunt Jenna… Is it okay if Ric takes me to town? I'm really tired." That wasn't even a lie. Ever since the werewolves had taken me, I had nightmares again. And not only of them… The memories had been almost gone and now they were all coming back to haunt me. Voldemort, Uncle Vernon, Logan Fell and the werewolves. That wasn't all of them by a long shot but more than I wanted to deal with. I couldn't even curl up with Jeremy like I usually did because he spent all of his free time with Anna, Pearl and Uncle John recently.

"You haven't been sleeping well, have you?" Jenna stepped forward, looking at me in concern "Maybe you should go home and rest?"

I shook my head "I don't feel like trying right now," I evaded.

"Alright. If you're sure," she murmured, smiling at me slightly "Take care of her, will you, Ric?"

"Always," my History teacher nodded, grabbing the two leashes that I had slung over my shoulder. He quickly clipped them onto my dogs' collars and lead me back to where he parked his car. Alaric quickly drove to the Grill, allowing me to curl up to him at the table where Damon was already sitting with his compelled girlfriend.

My head was leaning on Ric's shoulder when Damon started speaking "Other than your lecture on the history of Mystic Falls, did you get anything out of Elijah?"

"No, it was boring," Alaric mumbled, careful not to move too much "Of course, Jenna thinks he's charming… I had to use Angel to get out of there."

Damon laughed "And she played along, I imagine."

"I can hear you," I mumbled under my breath, not opening my eyes. Damon sighed and I heard shuffling. I squeaked when I was picked up from the bench and found myself curled up on the vampire's lap "What are you doing?"

"You're tired and I'm sure Ric is uncomfortable." Damon flashed the part-time vampire Hunter a small, teasing smirk.

I looked up at the older Salvatore and shrugged, snuggling into his chest "You're comfy."

"Coming back to you," Damon started "You sound jealous. Sound a bit jealous?"

Andie nodded like the good pet she was "Kinda do."

Suddenly, Damon sat up a bit straighter, causing me to whine in protest "Sorry, Angel. Ah, there's Jenna with her new boyfriend. Hi."

"Hey, guys," Aunt Jenna greeted cheerfully. I peaked up at her to see her raise an eyebrow at me.

I threw her an exhausted grin "He's comfy."

"Hear that, Jenna," Damon joked "I'm comfy." I pinched his side, causing a small yelp from the vampire "Sorry, sorry. So… I hear you two had quite a meeting of historical minds today."

My aunt rolled her eyes "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"Well, as much as I'd like to continue this," Alaric muttered in annoyance "I've got papers to grade." He put down some money, getting ready to leave.

"No," Andie burst out, causing me to startle "You know what? We should continue this. Let's have a dinner party."

I looked up at Damon suspiciously. He had something planned and I wasn't sure whether I liked it or not "Ooh," he smiled "My girl. Full of good ideas. I'll be happy to host. Say tonight. Maybe?"

Andie shrugged "It's good for me. Jenna?"

"I don't know if tonight works…" Alaric tried to explain but he was cut off by Jenna.

"Yeah, I'm free."

Elijah who had watched quietly so far, inclined his head "It'd be a pleasure."

"Great. Angel, mind cooking something?" Damon questioned.

"What?" I blinked, covering a yawn with my hand "Why?"

The Salvatore pouted down at me "Because your food is awesome. Please?"

"Fine," I sighed "What exactly do you want me to make? Chicken, lamb, pork or steak?"

Damon thought for a moment "How about Roast Chicken with potatoes, string beans and salad?"

I let out a breath "You want me to be in the kitchen for hours, don't you?" I questioned in exasperation "Any dessert wish?"

"Chocolate trifle," Andie cut in, throwing me a look that I didn't even want to interpret.

"Alright," I sighed and glared up at Damon "You're so paying for this."

The vampire held up his hands and handed me his credit card "I'll text you the pin."

I snatched it away from him and got up, grabbing Aunt Jenna's arm "You're going shopping with me."

"Okay," she shrugged, waving to the people at the table "See you later, guys."

"Hold on," Alaric called out "I'll join you."

It took us an hour alone to get everything we needed for the dinner along with some dessert glass bowls for the trifle. The ones I picked in the beginning apparently were too small, so Alaric grabbed two boxes with six bowls in each. When we arrived at the Boarding House Damon was already there with Andie, drinking as usual. Alaric brought the groceries into the kitchen for me and I threw Damon's card at him "You owe me. This is going to take ages."

"Ask Jenna to help you," he shrugged.

I snorted "Hell will freeze over before I let that woman near any food I make. The last time turned out disastrous." I whirled around and started cooking. The dessert was first since it needed to be chilled for a few hours. As soon as it was done, it was chicken time. When it was done, it was time for the dinner party and I could barely keep my eyes open.

"It smells amazing, Angel," Uncle John told me, coming into the kitchen.

I turned my head in surprise "I didn't know you were coming," I smiled lightly "I thought you'd rather spend some time with Jay, Anna and Pearl."

He shook his head "When Jenna told me that you were making food for a dinner party for Elijah, I decided I couldn't miss out on all the fun and games. Are you alright?"

"Just a bit tired… Hey, can I stay with you tonight?" I tried to sound nonchalant but I doubt it would work.

"Sure," he nodded, pulling me into an embrace. I leaned my head against his chest, eyes drifting shut for a short moment.

My head snapped up again when I heard Elijah greeting Jenna from inside the parlour "Jenna. Wonderful to see you again. How are you?"

"Nice to see you," Aunt Jenna greeted.

I looked up at Uncle John and rolled my eyes "Talk about oblivious…"

"What do you mean?" he questioned in amusement.

"Elijah is doing it on purpose to annoy Ric," I murmured, watching the interacting uneasily. While the Original wasn't doing any harm, I couldn't help but wish that he'd just keep my family out of it.

When they were all seated, I asked them which part of the chicken they preferred and plated the food up while Jenna poured the drinks. Once everybody had their food, I sank into the chair on my uncle's right. Eating was silent for a while until Jenna spoke up "I hate to break it to you, Damon, but according to Elijah, your family is so not a founder of this town."

"Hmm?" Damon looked up mirth dancing in his eyes. He loves his banter with Jenna "Do tell."

Elijah put down his fork "Well, as I mentioned to Jenna and Angel earlier, a fraction of settlers migrated from Salem after the witch trials in the 1690s. Over the next hundred years, they developed this community where they could feel safe from persecution."

"Hmm," Jenna nodded seriously "Because they were witches."

Andie jumped into the conversation. She seemed to like doing that… "Yeah, but there's no tangible proof there were witches in Salem."

"Andie's a journalist," Damon hummed "Big on facts."

"Well, the lore says that there was this wave of anti-witch hysteria," Elijah explained "It broke out in the neighbouring settlement, so these witches were rounded up. They were tied to stakes in a field together and, uh, burned. Some say you could hear the screams from miles around us. They were consumed by fire…" His demeanour didn't change when he turned to look at me "Could you pass the…"

I handed him the mashed potatoes silently, clenching my hand in Uncle John's jacket "It's starting to sound a little like a ghost story to me," he murmured, patting my hand underneath the table comfortingly.

"So, why do you want to know the location of these alleged massacres?" Damon questioned, eyes narrowed on the old vampire.

Elijah shifted nervously "You know… a healthy historian's curiosity, of course."

Damon nodded mockingly "Of course."

After everyone had eaten their meals, the others started to get up, while I leaned back a bit, sipping my glass of coke. The caffeine had helped a little but I still felt like I was going to fall asleep any second.

Andie got up last and looked at everyone else "The gentlemen should take their drinks in the study."

"I have to say," Elijah nodded "The food was almost as wonderful as the company."

I looked up at him "I'm not sure whether to be flattered or insulted…"

Uncle John held out his hand to help me up "Wait till dessert. If he doesn't change his opinion after that, I don't even know."

"Fine," I huffed jokingly.

Jenna handed John some plates "Here you are, gentleman, make yourself useful. Hmm?" Uncle John looked down at the plates and walked off into the kitchen, helping us to clean up. Halfway through, I got annoyed and cleaned the plates and pans with a quick Scourgify.

"Well, that's handy," John murmured with a raised eyebrow. I shrugged and walked through to the parlour, flopping down on the couch.

I was almost asleep when I heard Jenna talking about dessert. I heaved myself off the couch and stumbled to the dining room "You still unwrap food because I'm not suicidal enough to let you do anything but unwrap stuff. You're a hazard in the kitchen, Aunt Jenna."

"Hey," she exclaimed before her shoulders slumped in defeat "Maybe you're right."

"So…" Andie drawled "I know this is a social thing, but I… I would really love to ask you some more questions about the work that you're doing here."

Elijah inclined his head with a small smile "I'd love to answer." I sighed and followed Aunt Jenna into the kitchen, but paused in the doorway to see what they were doing. Both Alaric and Damon seemed way too tense.

"Great, that's so great," the reporter exclaimed cheerfully. I wasn't sure why but I really didn't like her. It had nothing to do with Damon compelling her. She just reminded me of someone – even though I couldn't put my finger on it – and I didn't like it "Ric, would you do me a favour and grab the notebook out of my bag?"

Alaric nodded and walked over to her bag, while Damon was lounging in the chair next to Andie "Elijah, did John tell you he's Elena's uncle-slash-father?"

The Original nodded "Yes, I'm well aware of that."

"No Ric," Andie interrupted again "It's in the front pocket. On the… you know what? Excuse me, guys. Sorry." She got up to help the man find her notebook.

I turned away from them for a moment when Jenna was asking me what I put into the desserts, only turning back when Elijah let out a grunt. I blinked a few times when I saw that Alaric had stabbed the Original through the heart. The History teacher pulled out the dagger and placed it on the table. I gaped at them for a moment, before I let out a loud yawn. John glanced at me and got up "How about we get you home?"

"Thanks," I murmured, leaning into him "Let's just take the desserts with us. I made enough for Jay, Anna and Pearl as well."

John kissed my forehead "I'm sure they'll love it." We grabbed five of the desserts and walked to his car. On the drive to the hotel, I rested my head on the man's shoulder. I peeled them open a bit when I felt myself being lifted "It's alright, little one. Go back to sleep."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright. One more thing before I'm out. So, please tell me what you think in the Reviews.
> 
> Do you want me to write a sequel for this story once it's done?
> 
> I have an idea what to do in that, so now you'll only have to say whether you'd want to read it or not.
> 
> Nick


	38. 2x16 The House Guest

"Angel, wake up," a voice ripped me from my dreams.

I groaned, rubbing my eyes tiredly "Huh?"

"Come on, love," the voice I now recognized as Pearl's called out again "You have to go to school."

"But I'm tired," I whined, about to flop back onto the bed.

Uncle John sat down next to me "Angel, you know that you can't miss school. We already let you skip yesterday. Not so close to the summer vacation."

"Urgh," I mumbled, fighting to get up "Wait… How did I get here?"

"I carried you," Uncle John smiled "After you fell asleep in the car."

I blinked "Right. And that was right after Alaric stabbed Elijah in the back…" I stopped for a moment before I shook my head "What were those idiots thinking?"

Uncle John hummed "That's a good question. Hey, did you find out anything else about this Klaus person and the ritual?"

"Erm," I shifted in my seat "Maybe…? Listen, the way it looks now… Elena won't survive." When I saw him about to say something, I interrupted "I'm looking for a way at the moment."

John shook his head "How are the chances?"

"Slim to none if Klaus doesn't want her to survive," I sighed, pulling my hair back into a high ponytail.

"So what do we do?" my uncle questioned, grabbing Pearl's hand tightly.

I got up and leaned down to pick my bag "I'm going to school. We'll figure it out, alright?"

"Tell Matt that if he wants to go with us, he'll have to decide soon," Uncle John shouted after me.

"Sure thing," I called back.

At school, I saw Matt putting up a poster for the Live music night at the Grill. Before I could walk over though, Caroline joined him. From the way Care looked, it wasn't going well. Not that I could blame either of them… The newly turned vampire did spend a bit too much time with Tyler… "Matty," I called when I saw the blond boy walk away.

"Angel?" Matt stopped and waited for me to catch up "What is it?"

I raised a hand to my chest "You hurt me, dear sir. What makes you think that I want something?"

Matt laughed "We haven't really hung out that much…"

"I'm so sorry," I murmured with a slight grimace.

"Hey, it's fine," the blond boy assured me "I can't say I blame you. Your art, your new boyfriend and then the whole mess that's been happening here?"

I hugged him tightly "That doesn't excuse anything, Matty. The reason why I wanted to talk to you was because Uncle John wants to know whether you'd go with them or not."

"I think I might," he nodded "Lately, everything has been reminding me of Vickie… I'll call him after school."

"Awesome," I grinned.

A voice from behind me, made me turn in surprise "Sorry?" A familiar blonde was standing behind me with a piece of paper clutched in her hand "You wouldn't know where the History classroom is?"

Well, Nik certainly didn't waste any time. Although I wasn't sure why he didn't show up himself. At least, this gave me the chance to get to know his sister a little. I exchanged a quick look with Matt who nodded "Erm, we're going there now, actually. You're welcome to join us?"

"Thanks," Rebekah smiled in relief "I'm Rebekah Mikaelson, by the way."

Matt shook her hand "I'm Matt Donovan. That's my friend Angel Gilbert."

"Hey," I waved "I'm guessing you just moved?"

Rebekah nodded "Yes. I'm close to regretting it though."

I snorted "Don't worry. It's not that bad and it's close to summer vacation."

"Just more time for painting, am I right?" Matt nudged my shoulder.

"Of course," I smirked "That's what the school free time is for… Anything that's not school."

The blond boy coughed "No shit, Sherlock."

"Well," I murmured "I wasn't expecting you to understand. After all, it's elementary, my dear Watson." I caught Matt's gaze and we burst out laughing.

After a minute or two, he was poking me, still laughing "We should stop," he snorted "Otherwise the new girl will think we're weird."

I took one look at Rebekah and shook my head sagely "Me thinks it's too late for that."

"You always know how to make the best first impression, Angel," Matt nodded seriously.

I hit his shoulder "Shut up."

"It's alright," the Original waved off with a smirk on her lips "It's quite amusing, to be honest."

"We're here," I pointed out, walking into the History classroom to see Ric sitting at his desk, looking bored "Hey, Ric. What's up?"

The teacher looked up, his gaze going to the girl standing a bit behind me "Angel, Matt. Who is that?"

"I'm Rebekah Mikaelson," the blonde introduced herself "It's nice to meet you, Mr…"

"Right," Ric nodded "Alaric Saltzman."

I jumped to sit on his desk "Also know as Ric. Apparently, calling him that is better than mangling his name… I never got why 'Alaric' is so hard to say."

"Shush, brat," he rolled his eyes.

"You're the one dating my aunt," I shrugged "It's your own fault for getting into this situation." Ric groaned, causing me to smirk. He was such an easy target sometimes. Also… It was kind of fun to act like myself again. I loved bantering with people I liked.

The rest of the week passed quickly and Rebekah and I soon became friends. She was actually quite fun to hang out with, although she didn't seem to like Elena… I introduced her to the others who – after a bit of lying on the blonde's part – accepted her into the 'Save Elena' group. When I started to belong to that, I wasn't sure. She's my sister… I didn't really want her to die but I wanted Nik to become the person he was supposed to be. Maybe there really was a way for the Doppelgänger to survive the ritual. Something that doesn't involve being turned into a vampire.

Speaking of vampires. Apparently, Katherine had escaped the tomb after Elijah got daggered. I hadn't seen her though, so I wasn't sure whether it was true or not. It most likely was… Since it was Katherine, I doubted that it would take long for her to show up and mess with things. She was very good at that after all.

"Angel?" Rebekah spoke up during lunch "Do you get the Maths assignment?"

I looked up at her, putting my pencil down "Yeah, why?"

"I have no idea what I'm supposed to do," she admitted with a shrug.

"How about you come with me after school and I'll explain it to you?" I offered. We hadn't really hung out after school except for the meetings but I didn't really mind getting closer to the Original. And not just because she was Nik's sister.

After the last class, Rebekah and I walked to my car. The trip home was spent laughing at random things we came up with. I pulled into the driveway to see everyone out. Jenna and Jeremy were with Uncle John today, while Elena usually stayed with Stefan. I stopped at the front door and turned to the blonde Original "I'll invite you in but you have to promise me something."

Rebekah tilted her head "Alright?"

"Don't use it to hurt my family," I told her "I would hate to have to hurt a friend."

"Huh," she blinked "I make no promises for Elena."

I snorted and rolled my eyes "Good enough for me. Would you like to come in?"

"Why thank you, my lady," the blonde curtsied, following me into the house and up the stairs to my room "I know Hero. What's the other dog called?"

I looked at her to see Blue padding after us "That's Blue," I smiled fondly "He was my first Service Dog. Had to retire him a few months ago and got Hero."

"You never did say," she bit her lip hesitatingly "Why do you need a Service Dog?"

I flopped down on my bed "It's a long story. One that I really don't feel like telling right now. Sorry."

She waved me off "No, no. It's fine. You don't have to tell me anything."

"Right," I clapped my hands "What don't you get about the assignment?"

"Everything," Rebekah groaned "I just don't understand the topic at all."

"Don't worry," I smirked, walking over to my desk to get two of my books and a notebook. Since my desk wasn't the tidiest, I ignored the papers that fell off when I shuffled them around to find what I was looking for.

I only looked up when I heard Rebekah's gasp "You're Nik's girlfriend," she breathed, staring at the photos in her hand.

"Ah," I sighed "Yes. Well, it was bound to come out eventually."

"Thank you," the Original murmured, still studying the photos intently.

I tilted my head in confusion "Why?"

"You changed Nik," she explained "I haven't seen him this… happy in centuries. Not since we were human. So… Thank you." That was actually… not what I was expecting. She was a lot calmer than I thought she would be. I didn't think she would thank me. It's not like I had done anything but be myself.

"You're welcome, I guess. But he helped me a lot as well," I told her "I don't know how to explain it but… He makes me feel like I'm actually worth something."

Rebekah just nodded and grabbed the books I was holding "So, explain the science of polynomial."


	39. A Way to Survival

Two weeks after Rebekah had arrived in Mystic Falls, I was lounging on Maddox bed with the Original, while Maddox was sitting at the desk that was in the room. We had been trying to find a way for the Doppelgänger to survive the ritual for ages and not get any closer.

"Wait," I murmured, dislodging Rebekah from my stomach when I sat up sharply "So… If we could just put together a Potion… To replenish the blood she lost. What if we could make something like that?"

Maddox tilted his head "The question is whether the ritual would work if we do that. Because Klaus would need to drain her of blood completely."

I groaned and flopped back down "Damn. That could have been good."

"Hey, when is Nik coming anyway?" Bekah questioned.

"No clue. Sometime today? Tomorrow?" I shrugged "He wouldn't tell me."

Rebekah shook her head with a smirk "I have no clue what you did to my brother…"

"What if…" Maddox started, staring at the wall in thought "What if we try for a Potion that replenishes her blood after it restarts her heart?"

"But how would we do that?" I frowned "I mean, technically we could combine the Potion with adrenaline? It would take a bit of experimenting. Think we could get it to work in a week?"

The Warlock hummed "If we get the Martins to help we could get it together in half that time. Klaus will probably bring Greta and her brother and father are still here."

"I'm not too sure whether we can combine magic with medicine though," I pointed out "As far as I know it never worked in the past." Then a thought came to me "I think I can get another witch to help us."

"Who?" Maddox tilted his head.

"Sheila Bennett."

Rebekah choked "You don't think that anyone related to Bonnie Bennett will actually help a vampire, do you?"

"Sheila will," I told her "She would have died if I hadn't saved her. Ever since then she stayed away from the events that are happening around here. I don't think she's too happy with Bonnie at the moment."

"I don't discriminate against other Witches but that girl is a real piece of work," Maddox shook his head "She's in way over her head."

I nodded "I know, right? I don't really get the whole hating vampire stuff that most of your kind have going on. If vampires weren't supposed to exist, then they wouldn't."

"I know," the Warlock nodded "Why do you think I approached Klaus?"

Rebekah raised an eyebrow "You approached Nik? It's usually the other way around."

Maddox shrugged with a quirked grin and glanced down at his phone when it rang "Yes? Sure… Yeah… They're here." When he hung up, Bekah and I just looked at him "That was Klaus. He just arrived."

"He's here?" I asked, getting up with a smile. I really missed him… Texting and talking over the phone just wasn't the same.

"Yeah. He should be here in a few minutes." He sat down in the space I had occupied until a moment ago and pulled out a notepad "So we're going to get together with the others and work on the solution…?"

I scratched my head "Tomorrow? You take the Martins and I take Sheila?"

"Done," the Warlock grinned "Shouldn't be too hard to get them on board."

"Aren't they working against Nik?" I pointed out with a grin.

Maddox hummed "Technically. But they only want Greta back and since she'll be there… They'll help."

"Help with what?" a familiar voice sounded from the doorway, startling us. I whirled around and immediately threw myself at Nik "Hello there, little Red."

"Nik," Bekah greeted, walking over to hug her older brother after he released me.

The Hybrid smiled down at the fellow blonde "Hey, Bex. So, what were you talking about?" He sat down on the chair and pulled me into his lap.

"We're trying to find a way for Elena to survive the ritual. Maddox and I have an idea but that would mean a lot of experimenting," I explained, leaning my head back to rest against my boyfriend's shoulder.

"Can you have it done by the next full moon?" Nik frowned.

Maddox hummed "Maybe. We're definitely going to try… On another note, is Greta here as well?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Good," the Warlock nodded "We need her for this."

My attention was drawn to Rebekah when she got up "I need to go to the Boarding House. Apparently, Elena needs my help with something."

I raised an eyebrow "Okay?"

"I'll be back later," she waved "Have fun with Nik, Angel. And don't do anything I wouldn't do."

I coughed in amusement "There's nothing you wouldn't do, Bex."

"True," she nodded.

Nik rolled his eyes at his sister's antics fondly "I'm glad you two are getting along," he murmured into my ear, only to press a kiss just behind it.

"How about we go to the Grill? If we're lucky there's no one I know there," I proposed, getting up from his lap.

The Hybrid pouted but got up "Your wish is my command, my lady."

Maddox shook his head at his boss "Man, you got it bad."

"Shush, you. Why do I put up with you anyway?"

"Cause you love me," the Warlock shot back "And you know it."

I put my hand on Nik's arm when he went to protest "Don't even try. You won't win."

"I know," the Original huffed "That doesn't mean that I won't try." He jabbed a finger in Maddox's direction "One day… I will win."

"Dream on," Maddox laughed, waving us away "Now go and have some fun. Don't forget to…"

I cut him off "Call Sheila. Got it. See you tomorrow, Maddox."

"Bye, Angel."

Nik and I made our way to the Grill in my car. It was the first time Nik got to see it and he immediately stole my keys and got into the driver's side. I snorted and slid into the passenger side. Ten minutes later, the Original held out his arm for me to take "Charmer," I smirked, leaning against his side lightly.

"For you… always," he murmured back, opening the door "Well, this is quaint."

I looked around the Grill and groaned quietly when I spotted a certain vampire at the bar "Of course, he's here. How could it be any different."

"Angel?" Damon questioned. He had turned around as soon as he heard my voice.

"Hey, Damon," I smiled, walking over to him with Nik following behind closely.

The Hybrid studied the other man closely and looked down at me "Is that the short-lived friend of yours?"

I poked him in the chest "Behave, would you? I told you that Damon is like a brother to me."

"Yeah, yeah," Nik grumbled.

"Wait," Damon froze, his eyes widening "That is your secret boyfriend? The one you were always talking to?"

I nodded "That's the one. Nik… meet Damon. Damon, Nik."

"Nice to meet you," Damon greeted, shaking the Hybrid's hand "You come here to eat?"

"Not really," I shrugged "Just wanted to get out a bit… Hey, you haven't seen Elena by any chance, have you?"

The older Salvatore shook his head "No, why?"

I raised a shoulder "Just asking." I wasn't even sure why I asked that in the first place. There was just this feeling… Something was going on. And I was sure that I wouldn't like it one bit.

Damon knocked back his drink and got up from the bar "You still in on the meeting? Even if your beau is here now?"

"Damn, I completely forgot about that," I cursed and turned to look at Nik "I'm so sorry for abandoning you so soon…"

Nik waved off "No worries, little Red. I completely get it." He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my lips "I should go discuss things with Maddox anyway."

"I'll see you later," I promised and followed Damon reluctantly "Try not to wreck my car."

Damon turned his head to look at me as soon as he peeled out of his parking spot "So that was your Nik, huh?"

"Yes," I blushed "That's Nik. Problem?"

"Not at all," my almost brother grinned "I can see why you like him."

I let out a laugh "Oh yeah?"

"Definitely," the vampire wriggled his eyebrows before falling silent. I turned to look out of the window, thinking about the meeting I needed to organize for tomorrow. I just hoped that Sheila would help us… Her knowledge would be incredibly helpful.

I got out of the car once the motor cut off and walked towards the door behind Damon when the vampire suddenly surged forward into the house. I ran after him and stopped short when the scene in front of me registered. Elena and Bonnie were sitting on a couch and Damon was held against the wall by his throat "Elijah?" I frowned, looking at the older Original in confusion. That was one vampire I didn't expect to be here. Wait… If he was here… Where was Rebekah? "Elena… There seems to be someone missing here?"

"What?" my sister questioned, pretending to be confused.

I narrowed my eyes on her and sighed "Elijah, can you let go of Damon? I know he's an idiot but… There's something we need to talk about. In private."

Elijah stared into my eyes for a moment, before he nodded slowly, stepping away from Damon "Of course, Angel. After you."

"Wait," Elena called out "We're not done here."

The Original regarded her with a cold look "I do believe we are." He turned around sharply and strode out of the Boarding House without a backward glance.

Omake

After Elena sent the text to Rebekah, she looked at Bonnie "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

The Bennett witch nodded sharply "We need Elijah's help… And I don't trust Rebekah. Her appearance was too suspicious. The vision really didn't help though... I saw her with Elijah and another man. You can't tell me that it is a coincidence."

"Alright. So how are we going to do this?"

Bonnie bit her lip in thought "Well, Damon and Stefan are out, so we'll just go down and get the dagger. I'll stay with Elijah, while you dagger Rebekah upstairs. It should prevent them from seeing each other."

"I trust you, Bonnie," Elena smiled "And I think you're right about Rebekah. She is most likely a spy for Klaus. Have you found anything on him yet?"

"Not yet," the witch shook her head "He's a mystery… And Grams won't tell me anything. She hasn't even talked to me in a week. Something about going down the wrong path."

The Doppelgänger tilted her head "That's bullshit. You're doing the right thing, Bon."

"I know," the Bennett said, walking down the stairs to the cell with her friend "I would never not help you."

"Thank you," Elena murmured, taking the silver dagger from her friend when she handed it over. Now for the difficult part. She would have to trick Rebekah somehow. She wasn't quite sure on how it would work but she just… had to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, guys. Since we reached 1000 Reviews over on Fanfiction a while back I have something special for you. If you visit my profile there's going to be a One-Shot titled Experiencing Loss and Anger where you see the reaction to Angel's disappearance in the HP world. Hope you'll enjoy.
> 
> Nick


	40. Das Teffen der Magier

As soon as we were a few minutes from the Boarding House, I turned to Elijah apologetically "Sorry but my car is at the Grill."

"That's fine," the Original shook his head pleasantly "Now, I believe you wanted to talk."

"Right," I murmured and rubbed a hand over my head "Before I start… Who undaggered you?"

Elijah tilted his head in thought "I believe it was the Bennett girl."

I groaned "Of course it was. Speaking of Bennett." I pulled my phone out of my pocket "One more moment… I'll explain everything in a second…" I quickly texted Nik and told him that I was with Elijah, explaining the situation to him.

' **Be careful, will you? I don't want to lose you to my brother's temper. And he has one, no matter how calm he acts.** '

' **I will,** ' I quickly replied and slipped my phone back into my pocket "Alright. Now, I'm not sure what the others told you but… I should maybe… Oh, how to explain that…"

"Just start at the beginning," Elijah pointed out, his eyes glinting in amusement.

I shot him a glare "Yeah, let's see if you think it's funny when I tell you what's going on."

"Angel, just tell me," he sighed.

"Fine," I huffed "Your brother is here."

Elijah's head snapped around to me "What did you just say?"

"N – Klaus is here," I repeated.

"How exactly do you know that Klaus is my brother?" the Original narrowed his eyes at me.

Erm… Oops? I raised a hand to my forehead and winced "Dammit," I cursed under my breath "Alright. Hear me out here."

"I'm listening," he replied shortly, crossing his arms.

"You know that boyfriend that everyone always teased me about? The one I met in New York?" I asked, beating around the bush.

Elijah nodded impatiently "Yes. What does this…" His eyes widened in realization "Niklaus is the boyfriend you talked about? That's how you knew that I was a vampire after just seeing me?"

I shook my head "I knew that anyway. I just knew that you were lying about being a writer. Look, I know that you have your problems with Nik but please…"

"My problems?" the older Mikaelson repeated with a mirthless laugh "Klaus killed our siblings and threw them into the sea."

"He told you that?" I frowned.

Elijah tried to calm down, breathing deeply "My family is gone because of him."

"But that's the thing, Elijah. They're not," I told him, putting my hand on his arm "Nik would never throw them into the sea." I pulled my phone back out of the pocket of my hoodie "See? He undaggered Rebekah a few weeks ago."

Elijah looked at the screen and then up at me "Rebekah is alive? Then why did he tell me… that?"

A voice sounded from behind a tree a few feet away from us "Because I was angry." Nik stepped closer to us and looked at me worriedly "Are you alright, Angel?"

"I'm fine," I told him, leaning against him lightly. Nik wrapped his arms around my waist and pressed a short kiss to my forehead.

"So they're safe?" Elijah wanted to know, studying his younger brother's face attentively.

Nik sighed and leaned his head against mine "I realize that you have no reason to trust me but… I want to wake Kol and Finn after the ritual is done. Actually… it's planned for the full moon next week."

The older Mikaelson was silent for a moment before he looked at me "You're going to let him kill your sister? I'm aware that you don't get on but…"

"We're looking for a way for her to survive at the moment," I told him with a small smile "Speaking of finding a way… I should call Sheila and get that meeting organized."

Nik nodded "Maddox and Greta's family are in. They agreed on ten in the morning at the Boarding House Maddox stays at."

"Awesome," I grinned "You two… Try not to kill each other while I call Sheila, will you?"

My boyfriend snorted "I think we'll manage, little Red."

I rolled my eyes at him and dialed the Bennett's home phone, walking away from the two Originals. Not that they wouldn't be able to listen in but I wouldn't get distracted by them talking "Right, hey Sheila. It's Angel."

" _What can I do for you?_ " the older witch asked politely.

"Erm… So I was wondering whether you would agree to a meeting tomorrow with some other witches," I explained, glancing up at the sky that was showing through the trees.

I could practically hear Sheila's raised eyebrow " _A meeting with other witches? Why?_ "

"Yeah. About that… Have you heard about the Sun and Moon curse?" I asked.

" _You mean the curse on the vampires and werewolves?_ " Sheila questioned " _I heard about it but nothing more._ "

I closed my eyes and leaned against a tree "It's about that. Kind of. The curse isn't real. Well, it is but not really."

" _You're not making any sense,_ " she laughed in amusement " _So what's the curse and why do you need my help?_ "

"The ritual that is needed to break the curse is… Well, Elena needs to die for the curse to break. I'm looking for a way for her to survive but I need some help. You heard about Luka Martin and his father, right?"

Sheila hummed " _Yes. Bonnie said something about other witches being in town._ "

"Alright. It's the three Martins – Jonas has a daughter as well, another warlock and the two of us… I really need your help," I pleaded.

The older witch sighed " _I want to know more about that ritual and why you agree with sacrificing Elena. When is that meeting?_ "

"Tomorrow at ten in the morning. Mrs. Flower's Boarding House," I relayed the information to her quickly and smiled when Nik joined me.

" _Just one more question,_ " the woman spoke up " _Are there going to be any vampires around?_ "

I let out a laugh at her tone and smirked at Nik "Probably, yes. But they promise not to bite."

Nik groaned and looked up at his older brother "See what I have to deal with?"

"Oh, shut up," I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to the phone "You'll be there?"

" _Alright, fine. But I will be expecting answers._ "

I relaxed against Nik's chest with a quiet sigh of relief "I promise. Thank you so much."

" _Don't thank me yet,_ " Sheila murmured " _I'm not even sure that I can help._ "

"But you'll try. That means a lot," I told her "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow, alright?" The older Bennett returned the farewell and hung up. Once my phone was back in my hoodie, I looked up at Nik "Are you pouting?"

"I don't pout," he pouted.

I raised my eyebrow at Elijah "He's definitely pouting."

The older Original was looking at both of us in surprise "You… and… That was unexpected."

"Ooh," Nik taunted "Congrats, little Red. We got Elijah to show emotions."

I hit him in the stomach lightly "Stop teasing Elijah for his less than eloquent sentence."

Elijah groaned "You two are perfect for each other."

"Why thank you," Nik and I chorused.

The next morning, I was lazing on Maddox's bed, while Luka and Maddox were asking Mrs. Flowers' for some extra chairs. Nik and Elijah decided to stay out for a while, catching up on the past century. Jonas, meanwhile, was sitting at the desk. At ten on the dot, a knock sounded at the door.

„Angel," Sheila greeted when I opened the door for her.

I smiled at the older woman "Thank you for coming, Sheila." I stepped to the side, allowing her to walk into the room past me "Sheila, this is Maddox, Greta, Jonas and Luka." When I mentioned their names, they looked up and waved "Guys, this is Sheila Bennett."

"So, this is your ragtag group of witches, huh?" the older woman hummed in amusement.

I snorted "You do know that technically you belong to this ragtag group now as well, right?"

Sheila blinked at me "I forgot." She sat down on one of the chairs that Maddox and Luka had brought into the room earlier "You promised to explain more about the curse."

"I did, didn't I?" I sighed "Anyone want to jump in and help me?"

"You got this," Greta cheered sarcastically.

I threw a pillow at her "Love you too, dear." I turned back to Sheila with a sheepish grin "Alright. One question before we can start. What do you know about the Original vampires?"

"They're the first vampires. Emily Bennett had some information on them… It's in the grimoires," Sheila told me, a small frown on her face.

"Okay, let's start it this way… Over a thousand years ago, a family lived here. They came by ways of Norway or the old world as it was called then. Mikael and Esther – the parents of the Original family – fled from their former home. Long story short, their youngest son died in the year 1001 which prompted Esther and Mikael to find a way to protect their other children. Ayana – your ancestor – knew what Esther and Mikael had been planning but warned her that it was against nature or something. They didn't listen and went through with a ritual. The only problem was that Esther cheated on her husband and had a child with him… The child was Niklaus or Klaus. He is half vampire and half werewolf although his werewolf side is bound. Elijah and Nik faked the Sun and the Moon curse years ago to get the news of the Doppelgänger," I paused for a moment and looked out of the window "Elena is meant to be sacrificed because of what Esther did. We're here to find a way for Elena to survive the ritual. Maddox and I had the basic idea, but we don't really know a lot about Potions."

Sheila sat up in her chair "You would allow your sister to be sacrificed?"

"Once we find a way for her to survive, yes," I nodded "I met Nik in New York when I went to my first Art show and we kind of hit it off."

Maddox snorted "'Hit it off' is the wrong word. They are sickeningly cute together."

My foot shot out, catching the smirking warlock in the side harshly "Really, Maddox? I mean, really?"

"Not like it isn't true," he sulked, rubbing the spot I hit.

Sheila cleared her throat, drawing my attention back to her "That boyfriend that Bonnie thought wasn't real is the Hybrid?"

"You heard about him then?"

"Every witch has," she replied "Well, some of them at least. The Hybrid is said to be an emotionless monster. He kills people without remorse… You want me to help someone like that?"

It was Jonas who answered this time "I can't tell you how Klaus was before he met Angel – I'm guessing not very nice." He glanced at Maddox and his daughter for confirmation "But he's nothing like I thought he would be. She changed him."

"I didn't do anything," I murmured.

"You were yourself," Maddox pointed out with a grin "You accepted him for who he was… I think that it was the first time someone didn't care who or what he was. You didn't want to gain his favour or hate him for the things he did."

I bit my lip "That's because I can understand why he did everything he did. I might not like it or be happy that he killed but I do understand where he's coming from."

"And that's why he loves you," the younger of the two warlocks said.

"All of you trust him?" Sheila questioned, looking at all of us in turn.

The others nodded and I quirked a grin "You're most likely going to meet him later. He's out with Elijah at the moment, talking about plans and whatever else they can think of."

"Let's just hope that they don't kill each other," Luka muttered under his breath.

"I don't think that they will," I spoke up "Elijah only wanted to kill Nik because he thought his family was lost. Since they aren't and Elijah has prove of that… He won't kill Nik."

Sheila narrowed her eyes at me again but nodded "Alright. I'll help," she agreed "You said that you already had an idea?"

"Yup." I sat up on the bed "Now, I'm not going into too much detail here but I'm a witch. Not your kind of witch though but more the… Harry Potter type witch." Here I stopped, shuddering at how accurate that description was "I was brought to this world for some reason from my own. But anyway… We had this Potion that could replenish the blood levels of a person who lost a lot of blood. I think I could get the ingredients together… But I can't remember how to brew it. We're probably going to have to make some changes anyway… That's why I need your help. I don't know much about Potions and how to make them."

Jonas rubbed at his beard "I can see your problem. But the Doppelgänger needs to be completely drained of blood for the ritual to work, right? How are you going to accomplish that?"

"We somehow have to mix magical and non-magical medicine. If we can fuse the blood replenisher together with adrenaline… Something that jump starts the heart while the Potion works on restoring the blood count," I sighed.

Sheila had a small frown on her face, thinking what I just said over "You said you knew the ingredients? The quantities as well?"

I shook my head "No, I only know the actual ingredients. It has been over ten years since I had anything to do with Potion making… I only remember this much because I started sorting my memories a while back."

"Greta, right?" Sheila questioned, looking at the younger girl "Can you write down the ingredients?"

The girl nodded and pulled out a pen, grabbing a notepad that Maddox had lying around "Sure."

"Alright…" I hummed, closing my eyes "For the Potion you need… Valerian roots, Nettle leaves, Rose petals, Dittany leaves, Silverweed extract and – something that I'm sure we don't have access to – Boom Berry Juice."

"Boom Berry what?" Luka blinked "I would have thought that it would have been some mythical creature or something."

I snorted "Not in that one, no. But they do have unicorns, trolls, fairies, pixies and basically everything you can think off."

"What does Boom Berry Juice do?"

"It has restorative properties, so it can help the body produce blood," I explained.

Jonas nodded thoughtfully "So we need to find something that is high in iron, copper and folic acid?"

"Beetroot?" Sheila asked him "Pomegranate?"

"It could work," he replied "So we substitute the Boom Berry Juice with Beetroot and Pomegranate?"

"Then we only have to figure out how to balance the ingredients," the Bennett witch nodded "I should have everything but the Silverweed at home."

Luka got up and followed Sheila out of the door "I'll come with you to grab it. What about the Silverweed?"

"I'll call Elijah. He should be able to procure some." Jonas pulled out his phone, dialing before any of us had a chance to react. He had a short conversation "They're on their way back."

I looked down at my phone when it buzzed and paled ' **Damon told us your boyfriend is in town. John, Pearl, Ric, Jeremy and I expect to have the two of you home for lunch at one.** '

"Crap," I breathed.

Maddox who had read the message over my shoulder started laughing "Oh, good luck telling Klaus about this."

"Telling me what?" Nik questioned. I handed him my phone, causing him to slump onto the bed "Why do I put up with you?"

I leaned my head onto his shoulder "Cause you love me?"

"True," he whispered, pressing a kiss to my lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was made aware that TWDCarlGrimes was copying my story. So far the first chapters are practically identical with the first five chapters of my story. I mentioned it to them and they accused me of stealing their idea.
> 
> My problem with this is that I reported it and nothing happened and they don't care that they're using my work either. I'm only telling you guys cause I want you to know. I don't care if you use my ideas but tell me about it first.
> 
> Nick


	41. The Ritual

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the rewritten chapter for the Ritual. The only thing that changed is the end. The next chapter will take me a little longer but I'm going to make it a double update with a new chapter if that is alright. I'm sorry that I took it down... It won't change a lot but I hope that the rewrite will make more sense.
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Nick

At twelve-thirty Maddox room in Mrs Flower's Boarding House was packed. Five witches, two Originals and me… "So we have all the ingredients?" I questioned, leaning against Nik's chest.

"We should," Jonas nodded, shuffling through the ingredients that were lying on the desk.

I hummed "So… I hate to ask this of you but could you maybe start on the Potion? I'll be back later but if Nik and I don't go now then my family will hunt us down."

"John and Jenna will come after the two of you," Sheila agreed with an amused smile "And so will your brother if I'm not mistaken."

Nik looked from me to Sheila and groaned "What did I get myself into?"

"I'm not sorry," I shrugged unapologetically "I have been dealing with them for about ten years. They got so much worse after they found out that I met someone in New York."

"You're not helping," the Hybrid accused.

I rolled my eyes at my boyfriend's dramatics and pulled him up "Come on, we should go now…" He sighed and stumbled after me reluctantly "We'll see you guys later. If there's anything new, call me."

"Let's hope that they don't make the Potion in vain," Nik mumbled, throwing a glare at Elijah when his older brother snorted "It's not funny."

"Oh, stop whining," I sighed "We really should get going now. I wasn't kidding about them hunting us down if we don't get there in…" I checked the clock on my phone "Ten minutes."

The Hybrid shifted nervously but wrapped his arm around my waist, leading me outside "Do we really have to?"

"Aww," I cooed with a smirk "Is the big, bad Original afraid of a few puny humans?"

"A vampire, two vampire Hunters, your younger brother and your aunt," Nik listed "Can you tell me which part I shouldn't be wary of?"

I considered his words for a moment and nodded "You're probably right but they won't hurt you. Maybe they threaten you a little but nothing out of the normal range… I hope."

"Are you trying to cheer me up? Because it's so not working."

I was about to unlock my red Audi R8 – something that Jay talked me into – when Nik grabbed the keys out of my hand and whisked me off to the passenger side "Really?" I crossed my arms and stared at him, looking as unimpressed as I could.

"Sorry, little Red but you can't expect me to not want to drive a car like that… I wouldn't have taken you for an Audi type," he told me with a smirk. That bastard… He knew exactly why I had that car. I actually grew surprisingly fond of it though even though I originally didn't want to spend as much money on it but it didn't even make a dent in the money I earned for my paintings.

"Boys and their toys," I sighed, leaning back in the seat. It took us five minutes to reach my home with Nik's driving style… I wasn't too sure whether I would ever let him drive again. At least not a sports car… Just before we reached home, I pulled out my phone and texted Damon ' **Hey. Need you to come to my house** **now** **. There's something I need to tell all of you guys.** '

Nik hesitated at the front door "I really don't do families, little Red."

I bit my lip "I'm really sorry, Nik… But it's too late now. Aunt Jenna already saw you from the window. There's no turning back now." I unlocked the door and shoved my boyfriend inside, literally throwing him to the dogs. Blue and Hero leaped up at the man, trying to lick at his face.

"Well, that's a welcome I didn't expect," Nik snorted, kneeling down to pet both dogs "Hello there, Hero… And who is this?"

I ran my hand through Hero's fur and smiled down at him "That's Blue. He was my first Service Dog."

"Are you going to stay in the hall forever?" Jenna called from the kitchen area.

"That depends," I frowned, leaning against the doorway with Nik right behind me "You didn't try to cook, did you, Aunt Jenna?"

Alaric laughed at his girlfriend's face and shook his head "Neither of us would let her anywhere near the stove."

"Thank God," I sighed in relief "So, guys… This is Nik. Nik, that's my family. My younger brother Jeremy, my uncle John with Pearl and my aunt Jenna with Alaric."

"It's nice to meet you," Nik smiled, looking a little uncomfortable still. It wasn't noticeable but I could feel how tense he was.

John was the one who finally started talking "So you're the guy Angel met in New York." He turned to me with a grin "I'm not sure what I expected but this isn't it."

I rolled my eyes "Thank you so much for the vote of confidence, Uncle John."

"That wasn't how I meant it and you know it," he replied.

I shifted "Actually, there's something that we have to talk to you first…"

Jenna raised her eyebrow and groaned "Please tell me that you're not pregnant."

"What?" I blushed a deep scarlet "No. No, nothing like that. Let's just… Let's just wait for Damon. I texted him earlier."

"No need to wait," the vampire in question said, coming into the room "So, what did you need to tell us?"

Nik and Angel look at each other and the Original waved his hand for her to continue "I – I found a way for Elena to survive the ritual."

John narrowed his eyes on his niece "You found a way for… Why in the world would you want the ritual to actually happen?"

"Because I know why Klaus wants to do the ritual and I for one think it's the right thing to do. Would you want to have a part of yourself locked away?" I questioned them.

Jenna tilted her head in confusion "That still doesn't explain why you would want the ritual to go ahead."

I opened my mouth, closed it again and then turned to Nik "She's doing it for me," he admitted, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

Everyone looked at him in confusion for a moment before realization dawned on both Damon and Pearl's faces "You're Klaus," they breathed in shock.

Nik nodded his head "Yes. My full name is Niklaus… That's why Angel calls me Nik. Well, that and because that's the way I introduced myself."

"So you're just okay with your sister dying?" John questioned, his voice harsher than I expected.

I flinched slightly and looked down "She wouldn't stay dead and why is everyone so obsessed with the fact that Elena is my sister? She treats me like shit."

"She would survive?" Jay asked, looking from me to Klaus and to our uncle.

"Yes. I'm working with some witches… We think that we have the right combination down," I explained quietly "We're still going to test it but I'm optimistic."

Damon leaned forward "Wouldn't you have to kill a vampire and a werewolf as well?"

Nik nodded "Yes. I believe we have the perfect candidates for that. My warlock – Maddox – he grabbed that werewolf who was part of the pack who kidnapped Angel. As for vampire… I was thinking Katerina. She escaped the ritual once… It's only poetic."

"I'm totally on board with sacrificing Katherine," Damon nodded "She is the biggest bitch ever."

It was hours after Nik and I arrived at the house, evening already when John finally narrowed his eyes on the pair of us and turned to me "How about you and Jeremy set the table for dinner, hm?"

"There's no way I'm gonna leave you alone with him," I shook my head in denial.

Nik placed his hand on my shoulder "It's alright, Angel. You go ahead."

"Please, Uncle John," I pleaded "Please just don't go overboard… I really like Nik. He may be Klaus but… Give him a chance." The stern expression on my uncle's face softened and he nodded before shooing me off with Jay.

I sank down at the kitchen table, hiding my face in my hands. Jeremy pulled me into a hug from behind "They're not going to kill him, Tiny. If he really loves you then he has nothing to fear from them. Trust me, I heard them planning the last few hours…" He sat down next to me and grabbed my hands in his bigger ones "That's not it, is it?"

"No," I murmured "I – I don't know. I'm just scared that he doesn't want to put up with me for long… I mean, who would want to anyway?"

"Angel," Jeremy started but stopped when he saw Nik coming into the room.

The Original knelt down in front of me "Could you leave us alone for a moment?"

My brother shrugged his shoulders "Sure. If you hurt her…"

"Relax," Nik smiled crookedly "I just need to talk to Angel about something." That seemed to be good enough for Jeremy since he just walked out of the room.

"You heard," I stated, looking down at my hands. A part of me was ashamed that he heard about my doubts but maybe it was a good thing?

Nik sighed and tilted my chin up with his hand "I'm not 'putting up with you', love. You heard what Elijah said. He didn't expect me to act like this because I never did before. This is new for both of us but I don't plan on letting you go anytime soon."

"But why would you even want me? You could have anyone you want," I pointed out, not sure what to make of his answer.

"Angel, I don't want anyone else. I love you, okay? You're funny, sarcastic and an amazing artist," he listed.

"And damaged," I added quietly.

The Original pulled me from the chair and onto the floor with him "You might have some issues but you've gotten better. Earlier, you were in a small room with seven other people and you were completely fine. I don't expect any miracles from you, little Red. But I am going to help you in any way that you need."

"Thank you," I breathed, burying my head in his chest "I'm sorry, Nik… I don't really know what happened."

"It's fine," Nik murmured, pressing a kiss to my forehead "You don't have to apologize. Not for that."

I leaned up to press a kiss to his lips but before we could come anywhere near each other's mouths, I heard Aunt Jenna's voice in the background "They're kissing?!"

I slumped against my boyfriend when he started laughing and glared over my should in the direction of the living room "It's not like we haven't all be scarred by you having Ric over, Aunt Jenna," I pointed out innocently, walking back into the room, Nik's hand in mine.

Both Jenna and Alaric blushed a deep red "Brat," she hissed.

Pearl raised an amused eyebrow "I think we should get back to the matter at hand, shall we?"

"Right," John nodded and turned to look at us "So… I might not be too happy with this whole situation now but…" He paused when he saw my face fall "But I trust you, Angel. I know that you're a good judge of character and when you say that you found a way for Elena to survive… I'll believe you that it works."

I went to open my mouth when my phone rang "Sorry," I mumbled and accepted the call "Yes?"

" _How's it going?"_ Maddox questioned curiously.

I exchanged a look with Nik who shrugged "Not too bad, I'd say… What's up?"

" _Well, you said to call you once we're done. Elijah just went out to test the Potion on some random forest animal… We'll know whether it works once he's back,"_ the Warlock explained.

"Hold on," Nik cut in, grabbing the phone out of my hand "Elijah went out to test the Potion? As in, suit-wearing, proper Elijah?"

Maddox snorted " _Yes. Greta guilted him into it… You should have seen it._ "

"Huh."

"What's going on?" Jay questioned, his head turning from Nik to me and then to Damon.

I shook my head, watching Nik talk to Maddox some more "The others think they finished the Potion. Elijah is testing it on some forest animal. We can't be sure whether it completely works yet."

"Elena really will survive?" John questioned quietly.

"I should think so," I shrugged "It's magic, so you should know that there's no guarantee. If the test works then the chances are high though. Nik – while he wants to break the curse, he's willing to wait until we have found a way for Elena to survive."

Damon hummed "You said Witches earlier. Who?"

"Oh, erm… the three Martins – Jonas, Luka and Greta, Nik's warlock Maddox and Sheila Bennett."

"Maddox? As in the man you were at the Grill with a while ago?" Alaric frowned.

I nodded "Yeah. He's been here since… before the Masquerade Ball. Originally Nik sent him to keep an eye on me or something but you know me… I figured it out and now we're friends."

We all looked up when the door burst open suddenly and Elena walked in "Whose car is that out front?" she frowned before looking at all the people in the room "Why are you all here and who is that?"

"The car is mine," I spoke up, leaning against Nik's frame "And he's my boyfriend."

Elena's eyes narrowed and her tone betrayed her jealousy "How in the world did you afford a car like that?"

"Remember the money she made with her paintings?" Jay spoke up "Angel is rich…"

"So you bullied me into buying a sports car," I snorted.

Jay shot me a mock affronted look "Hey. It wouldn't have worked if you didn't like the car."

"True," I nodded with a thoughtful expression.

Elena rolled her eyes at us "Can't you just talk like normal people for once? I'm gonna go to my room. Bonnie and Stefan are coming over later."

"Yes, please leave," I mumbled, causing my sister to whirl around and storm off. I glanced after her and shrugged.

"Angel's skill with words is something everyone should envy," Jenna snorted "You're pretty good at seeing the best in people… Even the big, bad Hybrid."

"I spent almost a week alone with him and he's been nothing but nice to me, Aunt Jenna," I told her quietly, smiling when I caught Nik's gaze from across the room "He never once hurt me and he promised, he wouldn't hurt my family."

John snorted "Is Elena included because I think killing her is a violation of that promise."

I felt like I was punched in the stomach… I knew that Uncle John was Elena's father and I was aware that it was most likely a lot to take in but… "Elena has never liked me. Never… Ever since I came into this family she was jealous or something. I have no idea why she treated me like shit. I'm so sorry that I'm not really too happy about protecting her. I only found a way for her to survive the ritual but that only means that I don't care for her well-being, right?" I couldn't help that my voice was getting slightly harsher towards the end but I needed to get my point across "We're going… You know how to reach me." I hugged Damon and ruffled Jeremy's hair before I walked out of the room, not even looking back to the four adults. I wasn't sure why Uncle John's words hurt me that much… They had seen how Elena treated me over the years and nothing ever happened… At the door, I grabbed Hero's harness, whistling for the dog to come. I just felt like I needed him at the moment…

"Are you alright, little Red?" Nik questioned as soon as we got to the car.

I shook my head, letting Hero into the backseat of the car. After he was situated, I slid into the passenger side again "No but they just need some time, I think. So that's what I'm gonna give them… Time."

"On a completely unrelated note," Nik started "I bought that mansion that was in the woods…"

"Really? I remember it being almost a ruin," I frowned, thinking back to seeing the house on my runs… Back when I was still running through the forest.

The Original nodded "It does look in need for some renovating but I have some of my people doing it as we speak."

"Your vampires?"

"Exactly," Nik nodded with a grin "They started the week before I arrived and they should finish just before the ritual if it's continuing the way they were going."

I smiled "That's awesome. So you're staying here?"

"I was planning to, yes," he smiled "It's not like I have a girlfriend waiting for me in New York."

"You better not," I bantered and sighed "Do you think he's right?" I didn't need to clarify anything. Nik already knew what I was talking about.

"You're doing everything in your power to find a way for the Doppelgänger to survive… Even if you don't like her. That makes you the bigger person."

I hesitated "I know but that still doesn't stop Uncle John from being my family… I – Do you think he hates me now?"

"He was just shocked, love. Nothing more," Nik assured "He'll come around. Hell, that man loves you like you're his own child… when the way he threatened me is anything to go by."

"Wait, he actually threatened you?" I blinked.

Nik snorted "It was a bit of a weak threat since it was after they found out who I am but they told me that if I ever hurt you they would hunt me down."

"I'm really sorry about them," I apologized with a small grimace "They're just as crazy as me."

"That's very true," he laughed "But that's one of the reason I love you."

I looked over at Nik and tangled my hand with his free once "I love you too, Nik."

Back in Maddox's room, everyone was waiting for news about the Potion from Elijah. I fell onto the bed, with a groan. Maddox scooted to the side to make some more space for me "I take it that it didn't go too well?"

"I'm pretty sure my uncle hates me right now," I mumbled, tugging at my hair. Before anyone could say anything else, I glanced at my phone and sat up sharply "Hey, did any of you hear from Rebekah?" When they all shook their heads, I cursed "Dammit… I haven't heard from her since she left yesterday."

Nik flopped onto the bed next to me "In a town like this… Is that bad?… I'm used to Bekah dropping off the grid for a while."

"I have no idea," I murmured "But I don't think it's a coincidence that Elijah is up and walking around and Rebekah mysteriously disappeared at the same time."

"You think they undaggered me so they could dagger my sister?" Elijah's voice sounded from the doorway.

I nodded and quickly dialed Damon's number "Listen, have you seen Rebekah?"

" _No? Why? Did something happen?_ " the vampire questioned, sounding extremely worried.

"I think so," I sighed "Just… Do me a favour and keep an ear out. I think Elena and Bonnie might have something to do with it cause Rebekah went to see my sister yesterday."

Damon hissed " _You mean yesterday… The day that Elijah got undaggered?_ "

"Yeah. So it really does sound as bad as I think it does," I groaned.

" _I'll keep an eye out. Angel? Stefan might do something to try and stop the ritual…_ " Damon started.

I glanced at the others in the room to see them already whispering about how to secure the area "We can deal with that… Thanks for letting us know."

" _No worries. You do you, Angel. If you think that the ritual should go ahead… I understand your reasons. I actually agree. I see how bad Stefan gets with only drinking animal blood and he does it on purpose. I can't imagine how hard it would be to have a part of yourself locked away._ "

"I appreciate that, Damon. I really do. Thank you again," I smiled and said my goodbyes, hanging up the phone "So… Did the Potion work alright?"

Elijah nodded "The deer was up and running about fifteen minutes later."

I blinked in surprise "Wait. You drained a deer… And you don't have any blood on you? How?"

"I think that's Elijah's real superpower," Nik laughed, wrapping his arms around me from behind "He's not as messy as the rest of us."

"Good on you," I shrugged after a moment of silence "We should get back to planning the rest of the ritual. We have the werewolf. Do you know where Katherine is?"

The older Mikaelson nodded "I believe I know where she is hiding. Jonas and I will go to collect her tomorrow."

After everything was written out, the night of the ritual approached quickly and soon we found ourselves setting everything up. We had planned most of it. I would be there in wolf form, making sure no one interfered while the witches and warlocks were in different points across the Quarry. Greta was standing next to me by the altar, setting up the ceremonial bowl for the ritual. Elijah was standing with Sheila near the circles of fire that were holding the sacrifices. Elena was already there with Jules. Nik would come in a few moments, bringing Katherine with him.

"Greta, witches are supposed to maintain the balance in nature," Elena shouted at the younger girl "It's your duty to them to keep this curse sealed."

Greta snorted and shook her head at my sister "My duty is to Klaus. The new order."

"Glad to know I still have a dance partner," Nik teased, walking down the hill with a temporarily dead Katherine slung over his shoulder.

"You," Elena spat "So my sister has finally shown her true colours… I knew that it was only a matter of time."

Nik's eyes narrowed "You don't get to talk to Angel like that. If anyone is showing their true colours it's you. Your sister made sure that you would survive the ritual. She asked me to postpone the ritual until she found a way." He gestured for Sheila who held up the Potion that was in her hand "This Potion will bring you back."

"Sheila? Please, you have to help me… Why are you with them?" Elena pleaded.

The older Bennett witch shook her head "I have watched my granddaughter around you. Did you know that Bonnie was never supposed to use her magic as much as she did? She uses the wrong kind of magic and it's killing her. I have told her time and time again but all she cares about is your safety."

"So you're just going to allow them to kill me?" my sister screeched.

Before anyone could say anything else, Greta spoke up "Klaus, the moon has passed its apex. Remember everything you need to do?"

"I remember," Nik nodded, catching my gaze with his. I would be right beside him once it was the time. The young witch nodded, dropping the Moonstone into the stone bowl she had prepared earlier. Sparks were flying as the moonstone got destroyed. Greta started chanting the spell in Latin as my boyfriend approached the rings of fire. He looked down at the moaning werewolf emotionlessly "Shall we?" The ring around Jules disappeared and she immediately went for the attack. Nik rolled his eyes and quickly got the upper hand, plunging his hand into her chest "You hurt my girlfriend. I don't forgive that." Greta continued chanting while Nik held Jules' heart over the ceremonial bowl, squeezing the blood into the flames "Does that mean it's working?"

"It's working," the younger girl nodded.

The Hybrid sighed in relief and stalked over to where Katherine was slowly waking up "Hello, Katerina."

"Klaus," the vampire Doppelgänger gasped, looking around at the flames surrounding her.

"Isn't it somewhat poetic that you are still going to be a part in this ritual, Katerina?" Nik questioned.

Katherine shook her head, trying to run but as soon as she got closer to the flames, they were flaring up "Please… I –"

"I don't want to hear your apologies. You did this to yourself."

"Stefan," Katherine pleaded "Please…"

Nik turned around to see the younger Salvatore standing at the top of the hill "Well, well. Hello, Stefan."

"I'm here to talk," Stefan murmured.

"Very well, then," Nik sighed, speeding up to the top of the cliff, calmly walking towards Stefan. We had discussed the possibility of the younger vampire interfering and had decided that Nik would give Stefan his memories back… "What can I do for you, Mr. Salvatore?"

I shook out my fur, pacing behind Greta nervously. As soon as Stefan had asked for the ritual to be postponed, Nik surged forward, compelling the younger vampire to remember. Stefan stumbled back and actually fell to his knees at the strength of the memories "What?" he gasped "How did you…?"

"I'm so sorry, my friend," Nik murmured "We will talk later, alright?"

Stefan nodded, still somewhat dazed "Alright." He stopped for a moment "I think Damon found Rebekah earlier."

"Thank God," Nik sighed "Look, Elena is going to survive. I promise. Could you go and check up on my sister?"

"I will," the younger Salvatore nodded, speeding off without even looking down at Elena.

Nik came back down to the Quarry and turned to Greta "Whenever you're ready." The girl started her chant again, dispelling the ring of fire surrounding Katherine. The vampire was about to run away when Klaus flashed in front of her "Goodbye, Katerina." He quickly shoved the stake he was holding through Katherine's heart, watching her decay. Elijah released a breath from where he had been standing… I knew that he had been in love with Katherine centuries ago but she betrayed him and he finally got the closure he deserved.

For the last part of the ritual, Nik approached the circle my sister was in "It's time," he murmured. The circled around Elena disappeared and she started pleading with Sheila, with Elijah and even with Nik. Her expression became hopeful when the older Bennett witch walked forward with Elijah following. She was getting ready for administering the Potion once Elena was drained of blood "Thank you, Elena," Nik nodded, lowering his face to my sister's neck "I'm sorry about this."

"Go to hell," she sneered.

As soon as Nik was finished, he handed Elena off to Elijah who opened her mouth, making her swallow the Potion that Sheila was pouring into her "I can feel it," Nik gasped in excitement "It's happening." He looked up at the full moon, his bones starting to crack and he started to transform. Suddenly, I heard a body drop to the ground and I looked around to see Bonnie lying at Jonas' feet unconscious. I let out a low bark in relief… At least she couldn't interfere now. I jumped forward, nudging Nik's side carefully. He was still changing and it looked painful. Even more painful than Remus' transformation had been. I started licking Nik's face and yipped happily once he was completely wolf. He growled at me in annoyance before he started sniffing at me. I leaped at him playfully and ran off before he could do anything else. We played for the whole night and as soon as the sun was rising, we curled up on the ground with Nik nuzzling at my stomach lightly.

It was already noon when I got home and I immediately went to shower and change my clothes. I was aware that Elena was home, while Jeremy was with Uncle John but I didn't really care. It wasn't like my sister would actually attack me, right? Nik told me that he was undaggering his siblings today and he wanted me to be there when it happened, so I was about to head to Nik's now completed mansion when the room to Elena's door opened. My sister glared from the door of her room "Is it true that you're dating Klaus? As in the person who killed me?"

"That's none of your business," I rolled my eyes, stepping past her.

My sister grabbed my arm when I was on the landing of the stairs "It is my business. Don't you think I should know that my own sister is shagging up with the bastard who drained me?"

I whirled around "First of all, he's not a bastard. And since when am I your sister? You prefer to pretend that we're not even close. Also, you're alive. I understand that it wasn't ideal and I'm sorry that you had to go through that. I really am but Nik has been waiting for over a thousand years…"

"Listen to me, Angel," Elena started, sounding really patronizing "Klaus is dangerous. He only used you to get close to me…"

"Oh, how pathetic are you?" I spat "The world doesn't revolve around you, Elena."

Elena sneered "No? Well, you should get off your high horse because you're still that pathetic little girl who couldn't even step outside of the house without having a panic attack. You might think you are better than me but you're not. You are pathetic, Angel and I can't wait to see everyone abandoning you once they realize how useless you are."

"You're the one who should get off that high horse," I pointed out "After all, you're the reason all of those people are coming after us." My sister glared at me, shoving past me. When she did, I lost my balance, tumbling head first down the stairs. I think I hit my head several times on the steps because the last thing I saw was Elena smirking triumphantly. The last thing I heard was growling and low curses before everything went black.


	42. Staircase of Changes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry. I know I promised a double update but this turned out longer than the Original chapter, so I need to take another few days to complete the next...
> 
> But I was told that this chapter is better than the other was, so I hope that you guys will like it as well.
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Nick

Damon was walking up the driveway to the Gilbert house. He needed to talk to Angel about something. The older Salvatore hadn't been sure what was going on when Stefan returned from trying to stop the ritual. They just had their first real heart to heart since they were turned… Damon wasn't sure what changed his brother so much but Rebekah seemed to have an idea. She wouldn't tell him though. The female Original had decided to stay at the Boarding House after he undaggered her and the two of them were getting along great.

As soon as he reached the front door, he smelt blood… Angel's blood. Without wasting time with knocking, he kicked in the door only to find his almost-sister lying on the floor at the bottom of the stairs lifelessly "No," he whispered, falling to his knees next to her "Angel?" The vampire carefully put his fingers onto her neck. While he could hear her heart beating unsteadily, he just needed to feel her heart beating… "Don't do this to me… Please?" Unsure of the extent of her injuries, he didn't dare to turn her around and bit into his wrist hastily. Just as he was about to press it against her lips, he heard growling from the living room. Oh, how could he have forgotten Angel's dogs? Of course, they would have protected the girl… He quickly urged the half-dead girl to drink his blood, pulling out his phone with the other hand, dialing 911. The vampire quickly relied the necessary information and hung up, shaking from the shock of what he found when he arrived. Damon ran a hand over Angel's hair and pressed a kiss to her forehead "It'll all be alright." He didn't dare leave her before the ambulance got here, not even to check on what the two canines in the other room were doing.

It took about ten minutes for the ambulance to arrive and he quickly stumbled out of the way when the EMTs burst through the already open door. They immediately got to work once they saw the severity of the situation and barked orders at each other "What happened?" the younger man – Sam, if Damon remembered him correctly – questioned.

"I don't know," the older Salvatore brother shook his head "I just found her like…" His head snapped in the direction of the living room and he half ran, half walked off. Damon froze in the doorway when he saw Elena huddled in the corner of the room with Blue on one side and Hero on the other. The dogs were standing over the girl, ready to attack at the smallest indication of a threat.

Elena looked up at the vampire with a relieved smile "Damon. Can you get them away from me?"

Damon blinked, trying to catch up with what his mind was telling him. Elena did this? She had pushed Angel down the stairs? The girl who actually helped her sister to survive the ritual? "Why did you do it?"

"Do what?" the Doppelgänger questioned, the innocence in her voice sounded as fake to him as her expression looked.

"Don't give me that, Elena," he snapped "Why did you hurt Angel?"

Elena tilted her head "Because she's a fucking bitch, that's why," she spat "Did you know that she's shagging the bastard who killed me?"

The vampire had to close his eyes for a moment before he ripped the Doppelgänger's throat out. And here he was thinking no one could get worse than Katherine. As soon as Damon looked at Elena again, he surged forward, ripping off her vervain necklace "You're lucky that Angel needs me more than I need to avenge her at the moment." He glared into her eyes "You will not leave this house until either me, your family or the Sheriff will come to get you. You will not contact anyone… You will just sit here and be quiet." Damon gave a sharp nod and whirled around "Blue, guard. Hero… Heel." The Border Collie turned back to watching the Doppelgänger with sharp eyes, while Hero immediately went to follow Damon to where the paramedics were finishing up "How is she?"

"We're taking her to the hospital as fast as we can. She's as stable as she can get at the moment," Sam replied, checking the monitors that were showing Angel's vitals "Is that her Service Dog?"

Damon nodded "Yes. Can we come or…?"

"Yes," the paramedic nodded "You can ride in the back with her." They quickly wheeled the unconscious girl out of the door and loaded her into the ambulance. On the way out, Damon quickly grabbed Hero's gear and ushered the dog into the back of the ambulance.

On the way to the hospital, the phone in Angel's pocket started ringing and Damon accepted it from the paramedic when he pulled it out. ' _Nik_ ' it displayed and the vampire shivered, inhaling deeply before he answered it "Klaus?"

" _Damon Salvatore,_ " the Original murmured in genuine confusion " _What are you doing with Angel's phone?_ "

The younger vampire swallowed nervously, checking on the unconscious girl. His lips twitched a little when he saw Hero licking hat her cheek gently while the paramedics were still working on her "Listen, about that… I just went to talk to her… And…"

" _What?_ " Klaus snapped in agitation. Something was wrong and he knew it… He brushed Elijah's hand from his shoulder. The two brothers had been waiting for Angel to come to the mansion where he was about to undagger the remaining two of his siblings. He had spoken to Rebekah earlier and she said that she would stay at the Salvatores' for a little bit but she would come around his tomorrow.

"We're on the way to the hospital," Damon rushed out "It looks bad…" He heard a sharp intake of breath and a dull thud on the other end of the line.

Klaus for his part had stumbled and fallen to his knees in shock. His blue-green eyes stared up at Elijah in horror and he could only open and close his mouth for almost a minute " _Hospital? I'll – I'll meet you there…_ " The Original hung up the phone and closed his eyes for a moment. She had been fine. Perfectly fine when they ran together and now she was on the way to the hospital? "I – I need to go. I'm sorry, Elijah. I know I promised to be here for…"

"Go," the older Mikaelson told him "I'll undagger them and explain everything. Although I might call Rebekah to help me with it. They might not listen to me."

Klaus nodded his head absent-mindedly "Yeah, sure." He glanced back at the coffins and ran out of the house as fast as he could. There was no way that he would waste another second… Especially since he wasn't sure how bad Angel really was. Damon hadn't said much on the matter. It took him a few minutes to reach Mystic Falls Hospital and he could already see Damon pacing inside "Damon."

"Good, you're here," the younger vampire sighed in relief.

"What happened exactly?" Klaus questioned, narrowing his eyes on the man in front of him "You didn't say much."

"I –" Damon broke off and scratched the back of his head "Can you promise me that you won't run off and kill anyone when I tell you what happened?"

"I'm not going anywhere," Klaus pointed out "Hell, I'm staying with Angel. Revenge be damned."

The Salvatore tilted his head "Just wanted to make this clear first. I got to the house about half an hour ago… When I walked up, I could already smell Angel's blood, so I didn't really waste any time. She was just lying there… on the ground… Elena decided it was a good idea to push her down the stairs. She actually admitted it to me when I found her. Hero and Blue had her cornered."

It was then that a nurse walked up to them "Excuse me," she said, looking at the two men nervously "You're the one who came with Ms Gilbert, correct?" When Damon nodded she continued "We have tried reaching her next of kin but they're not answering their phones. Do you have a way to contact them? It's really important."

"Erm… Yes," the vampire nodded "Yes. I'll – I'll call them. Do I need to tell them anything in particular?"

"Thank you, sir," the young girl nodded "I can't tell you more but we need their permission for the surgery."

Klaus inhaled sharply "Surgery?"

"I'll call them," Damon murmured, pulling out his phone. As fast as he could, he looked for Jenna's phone number before cursing under his breath. How did he not have that number saved? Crap, especially since he actually needed it for once. He quickly dialed Alaric's number and hoped that his friend was with Jenna right now "Ric? Is Jenna with you?" he questioned urgently.

" _Erm, yes. Why?_ "

Damon groaned "I need to talk to her. Now. It's really important."

Alaric must have heard something in the vampire's voice because he immediately handed the phone to his girlfriend " _It's Damon."_

" _Damon?_ " Jenna frowned " _What…?_ "

"You have to come to the hospital. Angel… Something happened to Angel. They need your permission or something," he told her. The nurse gestured for the phone and he handed it over with a blink.

"Is this Ms Sommers?" she questioned.

Jenna had put the phone on speaker after Damon told her what was going on " _Yes._ "

"You have to give your consent for the surgery on Ms Gilbert."

" _Do what you have to. Is my niece alright?_ " Jenna had looked up at John when she asked that. The man was staring at her with wide eyes.

The Nurse hesitated for a moment and walked away from the two men she had been standing with "We are not sure of the full extent of Ms Gilbert's injuries. At the moment she is having a CT scan but the x-rays showed the need for surgery."

" _I'll be there soon… But please…_ " Jenna broke off, not sure what she was pleading for. For Angel to survive? For them to save her? She didn't even know what happened… God, she was such a bad guardian. Maybe it had been a good decision for Jeremy and Matt to go with John after he leaves. They had decided that he would go back home with the two boys next week but now? She didn't know what to do. She couldn't lose Angel… Not so soon after her sister and her husband had died.

* * *

Caroline walked into the Boarding House with a huge grin on her face "Stefan," she called, throwing herself at the broody vampire "Guess what?"

"Hello Caroline," he replied with a snort "It's nice to see you too."

"Yes, yes," the baby vampire waved off "My mom accepts that I'm a vampire. I explained everything to her and now she's fine with it."

Rebekah chose that moment to speak up "Your mother is the Sheriff, right?"

"Oh, hello Rebekah. Sorry, I didn't see you there," Caroline smiled politely "Yes, my mom is the Sheriff… When she found out the first time she wasn't happy."

"I can see why you're happy then," the blonde Original nodded "I –" She was cut off by her phone. The Original glanced down at the caller ID and sighed "I already told Nik that I would be by tomorrow."

" _I need your help, Rebekah,_ " Elijah spoke up immediately, not bothered by his sister's tone " _I can't deal with both Finn and Kol by myself… Can you come and help me explain?_ "

Rebekah frowned "I thought Nik was with you. You know, as a target?"

Elijah sighed and rubbed at his eyes in a gesture of frustration " _Niklaus is at the hospital. Something is wrong with Angel… I don't know what exactly._ "

"How did you find out?" Caroline called out. She knew that the Gilberts minus Angel and Elena were at the Lake House. Since no one knew any details, there had to have been something wrong, right?

" _Damon_ _talked to_ _my brother earlier. They should be at the hospital… Rebekah? I know that you probably want to go and see Angel but I could really use your help._ "

Rebekah bit her lip. On one hand, she really wanted to see Angel but she knew that Elijah wouldn't have called her if he could deal with their brothers on his own. Considering the fact that he had helped to dagger Kol a hundred years ago, she couldn't blame him either "I – Yeah, I'll come. But I'm not really too happy about it."

" _Thank you, sister,_ " Elijah nodded with a little sliver of relief. He really had no wish to be daggered in their stead and since Niklaus wasn't there to be the target, their anger might as well turn on him.

The blonde Original looked at the other two who looked as shocked as she felt "Could you…?"

Stefan nodded "I'll go and see what I can find out. You help Elijah…"

"I'm coming with you," Caroline spoke up softly "You know, just when I thought this whole shit was over and we could finally all be happy something like this happens."

The Salvatore wrapped his arm around the blonde "It's going to be alright, Care. Angel is strong… She will get through this."

"If not I'm going to quite cheerfully bring her back and kill her myself," Rebekah added with a small sniff, blinking back the tears "I haven't seen Nik this happy since… Since we were human. Not even then, actually."

Stefan smiled at his friend. They had talked since the night before when he returned and to his surprise, Rebekah agreed that they were better of as friends. Especially since it had been over ninety years for Stefan in which he didn't even remember her "I'll keep you posted."

"Thanks, Stefan," Rebekah nodded and ran off towards her brother's mansion.

"Come on, let's go…" Caroline pulled at Stefan's hand to get him to move as well "I want to know what happened."

Stefan sighed "Alright, alright."

He was about to get the car keys when Caroline shook her head "We're running. It's faster… Or are you scared you wouldn't be able to keep up?"

"Wouldn't… I'll show you not being able to keep up," he gaped, running out of the door with Caroline following a step behind him. They reached the back of the hospital at the same time and stopped. Caroline shuddered at the sight of the building. It all reminded her too much of what happened a few months ago after the Founders' Day celebration. Stefan placed his hand on Caroline's shoulder "Are you alright? You don't have to go in if you don't…"

"Let's go. I'm fine," the blonde decided, shaking off the hand.

"Care?"

She shook her head "I just haven't been here since I was turned. I'm fine, Stefan, really." The two vampires walked through the doors and to the waiting area where they could see Damon who had collapsed onto a chair and Klaus who was pacing up and down nervously "Damon."

The older Salvatore brother turned at the sound of Caroline's voice and smiled sadly "So you heard?"

"What happened?" the blonde demanded, crossing her arms.

Damon sighed and rubbed a hand down his face "It's…"

"Elena pushed Angel down the stairs," Klaus cut in, telling them exactly what happened. When Damon glared at him he shrugged "It's what happened, isn't it?"

"I was going to ease them in a little," the younger vampire exclaimed.

Caroline was the first to regain her voice "What do you mean, Elena pushed Angel down the stairs? How do you know?"

Damon resigned himself to having to tell the story another time and that was without Angel's family being present… "I went to talk to Angel and found Elena cornered by Blue and Hero. Since she was the other one in the house other than Angel and had obviously seen exactly what happened, she had to have been the one who pushed her."

"Are you sure?" Stefan questioned quietly. He might have seen the light and seen how Elena could be but that didn't mean that he wanted to think the worst of her.

"Yes," Damon nodded at his brother tiredly "Elena told me herself. She said that Angel deserved it…" He watched as Stefan sunk into a chair next to his, hiding his face in his hands "Stef?"

"I'm fine… It's just… How did I not see that?" he questioned.

Now it was Caroline's turn to comfort him "I could ask myself the exact same thing, you know? I was friends with Elena since we were children. Hell, I saw how she treated Angel back then and actually joined in. The only one at fault here is Elena. Not you, not me, Elena." If Elena really did this then there was one person she could ask for details. The other girl never did anything without Bonnie recently, which would mean that the witch was most likely in on it. Why Bonnie was still friends with Elena, the blonde vampire didn't know. She had seen that Elena loved to be the center of attention so much, she didn't care who she left behind. It started when the Salvatores came into town and got a lot worse as the time went on "I – There's something I have to do… Can you call me when you have news?"

Stefan looked up at her in confusion "Where are you going?"

"Bonnie," Caroline replied shortly. The two of them shared a look, thinking exactly the same. If anyone knew about whether Elena had planned this then it was the witch.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sheila was talking to her granddaughter, not knowing what had happened in another part of the town "Bonnie, listen to me," she beseeched "I can't lose you. Do you understand?"

"You're not going to lose me, grams," Bonnie frowned, not really sure what her grandmother was trying to say "Why are you saying that?"

Sheila grasped her hands "If you continue on the path you're on then I will lose you."

"Grams, just say what you want to say…"

"I want you to stop helping Elena," the older Bennett witch rushed out.

Bonnie gaped "What? No, Elena is my friend."

"A friend who doesn't care about you," Sheila pointed out "Did she once ask you how you were doing? I mean, it was obvious that you haven't been feeling well… What did you talk about when you were hanging out?"

The younger witch was about to protest when she thought it over "Her, mostly. But that doesn't prove that she didn't care."

"I'm sorry, Bonnie," Sheila started.

She was about to continue when the door burst open and Caroline stormed in. The normally poised girl was looking worse for the wear. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were puffy "Did you know?"

Bonnie blinked in surprise "Know what? Care… What happened?"

"Did you know that Elena pushed Angel down the stairs."

The young witch gaped at the young vampire "What? No… I didn't know. Is Angel okay?"

The blonde stared into the witch's eyes for a moment before she nodded "Elena pushed Angel down the stairs," Caroline repeated, flopping down on the couch next to her former best friend. She missed hanging out with the other girl… It just hadn't been the same these past few months when Bonnie was avoiding her "I – We're not too sure about what happened exactly but Damon found Angel at the bottom of the stairs… She's hurt really bad."

"Is she at the hospital?" Sheila questioned.

"Yes. I just came from there," Caroline said "I – How could Elena do something like that?"

Bonnie wrapped her arms around her devastated friend. Yes, Caroline was still her friend, whether she was a vampire or not. A part of her still didn't want to believe Caroline but she stomped it down… The blonde wouldn't lie about something like this, so it had to be true… Did that also mean that he grandmother was right? "She'll get through it," Bonnie whispered "No matter whether I was nice to her or not… Even I could see that Angel is strong."

"You didn't see Damon," the blonde shook her head "It must have been really bad."

"Does her family know?"

Caroline shrugged her shoulders "Damon called Jenna… They're on their way to the hospital. Might already be there, actually."

Bonnie closed her eyes for a moment "Tell me everything."

* * *

"Damon? Niklaus?" Jenna called out, hurrying towards the two Salvatores and Klaus "What's going on? What happened?"

When Damon hesitated, Alaric looked at his friend closely. The vampire was decidedly too pale for the Hunter's liking "What's going on, Damon?"

"I think you should sit down," Damon gestured "This isn't going to be pretty…" Once they were all sitting, he took a deep breath "Elena pushed Angel down the stairs. I found her unconscious about forty-five minutes ago."

John shook his head "Elena would never do that. She might not like Angel but Elena wouldn't do that."

Jeremy had gone into shock as soon as he heard what Damon told them. Elena hurt Angel? He should have stayed home… This wouldn't have happened if he had just stayed at home instead of spending time with Anna. The boy buried his face in his girlfriend's shoulder, soaking up the comfort "How do you know that it was Elena?"

"Hero and Blue cornered her in the living room. They wouldn't let her leave…" Damon said quietly.

"I believe you," Jeremy whispered "I might not want to but Elena was always spiteful when it came to Angel. She never understood why our parents' attention was on Angel… Not that they ignored us or anything but Angel needed them the most… Elena never understood that. I can see her doing something like this to prove a point…" He tugged at his hair roughly "I don't want to see her again."

Anna grabbed his hand in hers "Calm down, Jay. This isn't helping Angel. It's going to be alright… The girl I met won't let a few stairs get the best of her."

Alaric looked from his girlfriend to Jeremy to John and then to Damon and Klaus. He wasn't sure what to believe at first… But Damon wouldn't lie… Maybe Elena confessed to doing it? "I don't want to believe that Elena would do something like that but I also know that you aren't a liar, Damon… Have you heard anything yet?" After he asked that question, he saw the horrified looks on Jenna and John's faces. In all their defense for Elena, they completely ignored that they were standing in a hospital because Angel was hurt.

"No," Klaus bit out, glaring at his girlfriend's aunt and uncle. The family that supposedly cared so much about her. He did understand that they were most likely in shock but that didn't excuse their behaviour "We only know that she needed surgery and Damon is the only one who saw how bad she really was."

"It was pretty bad," the older Salvatore admitted "I wasn't sure whether she was alive when I first saw her. From what I could see, she hit her head several times. I – My blood barely helped her at all…"

"Oh, God," John breathed "How –? I…" Pearl wrapped her arms around him, while Anna and Alaric did the same to Jeremy and Jenna respectively. The two female vampires were horrified and angry that Elena could do something like this to her own sister. Angel had done so much for her and this was how she repaid her?

* * *

When Rebekah reached the newly dubbed Mikaelson Mansion, she was so far past worried that she could barely wait to check up on Angel. The female Original really hoped that her friends had woken up already. Alas, she still had to wait until she defused the situation with her family before she could do anything else… As soon as she opened the door, she could hear Kol and Elijah arguing "Rebekah," her older brother sighed "I'm trying to stop them from killing Niklaus even if he isn't here at the moment… I seem to be doing a bad job."

"I –" the female Mikaelson closed her eyes for a moment "I really don't care what the two of you are going to do but if you go anywhere near Nik I promise you that I will put you right back into those coffins myself."

Finn frowned at his younger sister "Why aren't you mad?"

"Because Nik changed," Rebekah pointed out "Look, long story short… He met Angel a while ago and she changed him. A lot…"

"A girl?" Kol gaped "Nik changed for a girl? I'm so going to have to meet her…"

Tears sprung into Rebekah's eyes at that statement and she looked to Elijah "Can you…?"

"Of course," he nodded "I'll explain the rest… You go and see if there's any news."

"Thank you, Elijah."

The older Original shook his head, confusion his other two siblings "I should be thanking you."

* * *

The group in the waiting area waited for hours. By now, Rebekah had arrived and it had grown dark outside. Still, there was no word from Angel. It wasn't until around six in the evening when an exhausted Meredith Fell came from the direction of the ER. She looked around and immediately spotted the big group "I take it you're all here for Angel?"

"How is she?" Jenna asked immediately.

Meredith sighed "She's alive and stable. Apart from that, there's quite a bit of damage, I'm afraid. Angel has a broken wrist in her left arm, fractured ribs… a piece of the ribs was lodged in her lungs but we could remove it without any problems… The most problematic injuries are her concussion and the swelling around her spinal cord."

"Swelling…?" Jeremy swallowed. He knew that an injury like that could be pretty bad.

"At the moment, the swelling is causing spinal cord compression which could cause pain and weakness in the legs at best, paralysis at worst," Meredith explained, looking from one person to the other. When her gaze met Klaus' she blinked "You're one of the… Originals, right?"

Klaus narrowed his eyes "Why?"

"I would like to talk to you in private about something," she explained and turned back to the others "Angel is still unconscious at the moment but a nurse will bring you to her room. I only ask that you're as quiet as possible." She gestured to the nurse who had followed her and instructed her to bring the group to Angel's room, while she took Klaus aside.

He looked after the others before his attention turned to the doctor "What can I do for you?"

"In case you haven't guessed I'm on the town council, so I'm in the know…" Meredith hesitated for a moment before she continued "I gave Angel some blood that I still had and it worked although it only did very little and it worked pretty slowly. If you're alright with it, I'd like to ask you to donate some of your blood, so I can hook Angel up to an IV… I'm certain that it should at least heal the worst damage overnight."

Klaus hummed "You think it will help?"

"It's worth a try, don't you think?" she asked "Although I am interested in why she doesn't react to vampire blood normally."

"I don't know either," the Hybrid shook his head "But I know that it worked normally before… Damon should be able to tell you more… If I let you take my blood, can I go and see my girlfriend?"

Meredith blinked "Oh, of course. Sorry…" She quickly lead Klaus to a room to draw two pints of blood that she could hook up to Angel later. After she was done she showed the Hybrid to his girlfriend's room and excused herself.

Klaus had to take a deep breath when he saw how small Angel looked in the hospital bed. Hero was lying half on her and half on the bed, making sure that he didn't cause his girl any pain. The Original sat down in a chair that Rebekah had pulled up next to her, grabbing Angel's right hand.


	43. Family Bonding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really glad that you liked the rewritten version of the chapters more... Really am. Here is the newest chapter. I'm honestly not sure how it turned out. I was told it's alright but you guys are going to be the judge of that.
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Nick

"Angel?" Nik's voice cut through the clouds that were swirling around my head "Come on, love. You have to wake up now."

I blinked my eyes open and looked around in confusion. Why was I in a hospital? Nik was running his hand over my hair, while Jenna, Jeremy and John were sitting on the other side of my bed "How are you?" Aunt Jenna questioned carefully, leaning forward to touch my leg gently. She was careful not to disturb Hero who had his head on my lap, his body curled around my lower legs in a complicated pretzel like construction.

Her touch felt kind of weird… I stretched lightly and hissed at the pain in my lower back. What happened? "What happened?"

"We were hoping you could tell us that," John spoke up "What do you remember from yesterday?"

I rubbed my head in annoyance, accidentally hitting my forehead with the cast on my left wrist "I don't remember much. Wait… Yesterday? I know we ran and I know that I went home to shower but after that everything is just blank. That was yesterday?"

"I –" the Hybrid broke off and buried his face in my hair, coming to rest on the edge of the hospital bed instead of the chair he had been occupying before.

"You guys know something, don't you?" I questioned with a sigh "Just tell me, will you?"

Nik tightened his arms around me "Well… Damon found you bleeding at the bottom of the stairs…"

"I fell down the stairs?" I frowned petting Hero with my good hand. He looked up and licked my hand calmingly.

"You were pushed," Jeremy intervened "Elena pushed you down the stairs."

I gaped "What? Are you sure?" When they just shrugged, I glanced at John and Jenna who were still looking a bit disbelieving. I rested my head against Nik's hand "I can't remember at all… But if what you're telling me is true then I can't say I'm too surprised."

A knock sounded at the door and Liz poked her head inside "I see you're awake, Angel. How are you?"

I raised my shoulder in a shrug and groaned when it caused pain to shoot up my back again "Not too great but not bad either. My legs feel kinda weird though… Bit cotton-y."

"I'm getting your doctor." John excused himself and walked out of the room.

"Caroline told me what happened," Liz started "I need you to tell me from your point of view if that's alright."

Jenna shook her head "She just woke up. Do we really have to do this now?"

"If you want the situation dealt with," the Sheriff nodded.

"It's alright, Aunt Jenna…" I smiled at my aunt tiredly "Sorry, Sheriff. I don't really remember what happened."

"That would be your concussion," Meredith Fell pointed out, walking into the room with my uncle following.

I squinted at her "That would explain why it hurts to think…"

"I need all of you to leave, so I can examine my patient," Meredith commanded "Out. Now!"

Liz looked at me "You're sure that you don't remember anything?"

"No," I shook my head "Sorry…"

"Well, we have a suspect," the Sheriff sighed "I'll go and collect her and see where we're going from there. I hope you're feeling better soon, Angel."

I smiled at the woman "Thanks, Sheriff."

"I said, out," my doctor sighed, shooing everyone out. Once we were alone she turned back to me with a small smile "How are you doing, Angel?"

"My lower back hurts when I'm moving around… and my head hurts but other than that," I shrugged lightly.

Meredith hummed "What about your wrist and your ribs?" She prodded at my chest gently but I didn't really feel any pain at all. The same with my wrist "That would be the vampire blood then… I'm going to do an x-ray later. Just to see how much has healed. About your back… Can you move your legs?"

I moved my toes and tried to shift my legs, barely withholding the grimace that wanted to escape "I can. It just hurts."

"You have a swelling that's compressing your spinal cord," Meredith explained "It should go down soon but until then I don't want you walking. If you continue with the vampire blood then it should be well enough in a few days but I would like to check it out before you decide to walk."

"What does that mean for me?" I questioned.

Meredith smiled at my hopeful tone "If your x-rays are alright you can go home tomorrow or the day after at latest. If you promise to take it easy and don't move that is."

"So bed rest?" I sighed "I can deal with that, I think."

"Good because you don't have another choice," the Fell grinned, ruffling my hair "A nurse will come and get you later. Try to rest a little. You need as much rest as you can get."

I nodded "Thanks, Meredith." I snuggled into the covers and almost immediately my eyes drifted shut again.

* * *

Caroline was sitting in a booth at the Grill with Stefan. The two of them had decided to spend a little time together since they hadn't really hung out after the blonde had gotten kidnapped by Jules and her pack a while ago. They were talking about what they had been up to and about the current situation when Caroline's phone rang. She grabbed it as fast as she could "Jeremy?"

" _She's awake,_ " Angel's brother said.

"So she's better?" Caroline questioned, glancing up at Matt when he stepped towards their table "What about her injuries?"

Jeremy sighed " _Well, the swelling and the concussion are still there. Angel says that her wrist and ribs don't hurt at all. They're taking her to get x-rays later._ "

"That means that Angel is going to be alright, right? She can go home in a bit?" Matt blinked in confusion at Caroline's words. What happened? Where was Angel and why would she only come home in a bit? He felt like he missed something… Not that that was news. He didn't really mind too much either. Angel had been busy with her boyfriend recently, while the others except for Jeremy and Anna mostly forgot about him unless they wanted food. It had also been one of the reasons he decided to leave with John. At least, he could start a new life without the obligations to his mother or Vickie… Thinking about her had gotten easier. She was in a better place now… "Thanks, Jeremy. I'll be by later."

" _Sure thing,_ " Jeremy nodded, smiling at the picture his sister, Hero and Niklaus made. The Hybrid had more or less curled up around Angel, while Hero had sprawled across both of them. How they managed that, he didn't know. The hospital bed was tiny. He quickly snapped a picture of them after he hung up, withholding the grin that threatened to come out.

Caroline and Stefan, on the other hand, relaxed slightly. Angel was going to be fine and that was the most important thing at the moment. Caroline's mother would deal with Elena and hopefully, she would get what she deserved. Matt shifted, catching their attention "Care? What's going on?"

"Matt…" The blonde vampire's eyes widened "Crap. I'm so sorry… It's Angel. She's in hospital."

"What? Why?"

Caroline looked around a little. She didn't really want to tell the whole world what happened, especially since a few tourists were sitting in the booth behind them "She was pushed down the stairs," she breathed "Elena."

"You mean to tell me that Elena…" Matt broke off "Oh, God. You said Angel is going to be alright though?"

"I think so," she nodded "She woke up this morning and her injuries were way better. Apparently not good enough to be released but better."

Matt nodded "I'm going to visit later on. Why did no one tell me though?"

"Sorry, Matt," Stefan shrugged "It was all a bit hectic and we had a few problems along the way. We didn't mean to forget about you but we were all a bit out of it yesterday."

"It's alright," the blond boy sighed "I get it… I don't like it but I get it."

* * *

Liz was walking up to the Gilbert's House where she knew that Elena was with a deputy by her side. She had just come from the hospital after talking to Angel for a few minutes. The girl had truly looked dreadful still but evidently not as bad as she would have been without the vampire blood. Meredith was a doctor known for speeding along the healing process with vampire blood in some cases. The Sheriff still couldn't believe that Elena would do something like that and sadly they didn't have any real proof yet since Angel didn't remember… They only had Damon's word to go on… Not that it was useless but the problem was that no one could know for sure what happened. While Elena had been cornered by the dogs, it could have simply been because she wanted to get help or any other reason. She rang the doorbell, waiting for someone to open the door.

It didn't take long for Elena to push the front door open "Liz? Hey, what are you doing here?"

"I'm asking you to come with me to the station, Elena," the Sheriff told the younger girl.

Elena tilted her head, her eyes showed a hint of panic "Why? Did something happen?"

"Your sister got hurt pretty badly and I was told that you might know something about it?"

"Angel got hurt?" the Doppelgänger frowned. Internally she was panicking. Did Damon tell the Sheriff about what she told him? She had hoped that no one would believe him…

Liz exchanged an unconvinced look with her deputy before she looked at the nervous teenager in front of her "Yes. It didn't look good." Elena's eyes lightened up smugly but she tried to hide it from the two standing in front of her. Hiding it badly, in fact "Please come with me now." The two police officers escorted the Doppelgänger to the station, putting her into an interrogation room for now.

* * *

I had been listening to Nik talking about his siblings when someone knocked on the door. Jenna and John had left to go to the police station to talk to Elena, while Damon and Nik stayed with me. Jeremy volunteered to go home and tell Pearl and Anna about this morning "Come in," I called out quietly.

Matt poked his head inside "Hey, Angel. How are you?" He handed me a small bouquet with several wildflowers "I just heard from Caroline… Sorry that I haven't been here sooner."

I shook my head at him "It's fine, Matt. You didn't have to come at all… If you were busy, I mean."

"You're my friend. Of course, I'm going to come and see you," he shook his head and looked at the other guys in the room "So, what have I missed exactly? I only know that Elena pushed you?" Damon was the one who told him the whole story, while I blinked several times, desperately trying to stay awake. Matty was here, so I didn't want to go to sleep yet. I just wanted to talk to him a little more.

Nik pressed his lips to the skin behind my ear "Go to sleep, little Red. You heard what Dr. Fell said about getting a lot of rest."

"But I wanna talk to Matt," I protested, letting out a huge yawn.

Matt smiled at me and patted my hand "It's fine, Angel. I need to go back to work anyway. Another server called in sick and I could barely get away for this long."

"Sorry, Matty," I mumbled, my eyes already drifting shut again.

* * *

Three days later, I was healed up enough for Meredith to allow me to go home under the stipulation that I don't walk too much yet. Not that I would… It still hurt whenever I stand up for too long. Jeremy came to visit me yesterday, ranting about not wanting to go home because Jenna and John took her home after she spent a day in a cell. Sheriff Forbes couldn't keep her there because technically they still didn't have any evidence even if most people believed that Elena did, in fact, push me down the stairs.

"Are you ready to go?" Nik questioned. He had an argument with my aunt and uncle yesterday when they insisted that I come home but I was honestly scared of being in the same house as Elena while I couldn't defend myself.

I nodded "I think so."

"Jeremy and Anna will meet us at the Mansion and Damon has been staying there as well," Nik explained "I think it has something to do with Rebekah."

"Would you mind?" I questioned, wrapping my arms around Nik's neck when he carefully picked me up. Meredith had wanted to bring a wheelchair but I didn't really want to be wheeled around, so Nik would just have to be my knight in shining armour for once "Hey, didn't you say that all of your siblings are awake now?"

Nik captured my lips "Yes. Are you ready to meet them?"

I hesitated "I'm not sure… I mean, do they even want to meet me?"

"Why wouldn't they?" my boyfriend questioned, his head tilted in confusion. I shrugged and bit my lip. Truth was that I wasn't sure whether the other two Mikaelsons would accept me. Elijah and Rebekah seemed to like me well enough but Finn and Kol I didn't know much about "Trust me, little Red. They've been just as worried as the rest of us. You have a lot of people who care for you."

"Hm," I mumbled, burying my face in Nik's shoulder "But equally as many who can't stand me and would like to see me dead."

Nik's arms tightened around me "We will make sure that Elena pays."

"Maybe," I shook my head "But I don't want her to die. That would be the easy way out… I just need to remember what happened…"

"You will eventually," Nik promised, walking towards the exit with Hero at his heels.

"Angel?" a voice called out from the side.

I peaked up to see Carol and Tyler walking over to us "Hey, Carol."

"We heard what happened," Tyler told us, shifting awkwardly "Actually, I think the whole town knows by now."

"Somehow I'm not surprised," I grumbled "I'm alright though. Well, better in any case."

Carol put her hand on my shoulder "I know that no one can prove that Elena did this but if you're having any more problems, you can always come to me. I will try to help in any way I can."

"Thanks, Carol," I smiled gently "And thanks for coming to see me, Tyler."

He waved off "No problem. I hope you don't mind that Matt told me?"

I shook my head "Not really. It was bound to come out eventually…" I shifted in my boyfriend's arms uncomfortably and grimaced lightly.

"I think that's my cue," Nik cut in smoothly, bowing his head in the mayor's direction "Mayor Lockwood." We drove to the Mansion in silence. I was almost asleep against the window, while Nik was driving as carefully as he could. The gravel road didn't make it too easy on my back but the pain medication was still somewhat working, so I was fine "Ready?"

"Can I still say no?" I questioned rhetorically.

Nik shook his head "I'm afraid not." He cut off the engine and sped to the passenger side, carefully lifting me out again. As soon as we were through the front door, there was someone in front of us. I blinked in surprise, not having expected that, while Nik just rolled his eyes "Kol. What are you doing?"

"What?" the younger Original shrugged, his eyes lighting up mischievously "I have waited for days to meet the girl who changed you, Nik."

"Calm down, Kol," another unknown voice sighed from the doorway across from us. That had to be Finn, I imagined "But I can't say I haven't been curious myself."

I smiled, leaning my head against Nik's shoulder "Whatever you say. I'm Angel, by the way."

"Finn," the oldest Mikaelson shook my hand "And that idiot is Kol."

"Nice to meet you," I whispered and looked up at my boyfriend "Could you… It's getting a bit uncomfortable, Nik." He shifted his arms and brushed past his brothers to deposit me on one of the sofas in the living room. I sighed in relief when I sank into the cushions comfortably "Thank you." As soon as I was somewhat settled, Hero jumped onto the sofa, lying down on top of me.

Damon snorted when he walked in from another door "Hero seems to be more attached to you than normal."

"Yeah," I nodded "I don't really mind though. I mean, who can resist that face?" I pulled my dog's face around to show Damon the perfect puppy dog eyes Hero was making.

"Wow…" the Salvatore mumbled, sitting down next to Rebekah. The others settled themselves on the other sofas around the room, while Nik slid in behind me.

We talked for hours about anything and everything when the topic of choice fell onto Finn. He told me and Damon some about his past. Before he had gotten daggered "I only changed one person… Her name was Sage."

Rebekah looked at her older brother "I'm so sorry, Finn. I – I shouldn't have acted as I did back then."

Recognition dawned on Damon and my faces and the younger vampire's eyes widened "Wait, so you're the dude that Sage told me about. You're the one she's in love with?"

"Sage? Redhead? Kinda badass? That Sage?" I added, looking at Finn curiously.

Finn nodded "That does sound like Sage. Do you know her?"

"Hero," I snapped my fingers, pointing to where my bag from the hospital was lying "Phone. Bring me my phone, boy." The dog jumped from the couch, dashing over to where the bag was. He shuffled around several things before he trotted back to me with the phone in his mouth "Good boy." I flicked through my contacts and pressed on Sage's name, throwing the phone to Finn "Here. Good luck… You're going to need it." As soon as Finn was out of the room with the phone clutched in his hand, I turned to Kol "Nik told me some about you… You were a warlock, right?"

"Yeah," Kol nodded with a shrug "I kinda miss it sometimes, you know?"

I looked at him sympathetically "I can definitely understand that… I'm a witch. Different kind of witch but you know? Still kinda a witch."

"What do you mean 'different kind of witch'?" the youngest male Mikaelson questioned.

"Erm… There's this book series that kinda explains it pretty well," I told him "I'm sure either Damon or Rebekah can lend it to you." I paused for a moment "I'll explain after you read them."

* * *

"Where's Jeremy?" Elena questioned, looking around the house after she got back from being locked up. Let's just say that the Doppelgänger was not a happy camper at all. How could Angel do that to her?

Jenna and John looked at each other "We have no idea. Isn't he in his room?"

"No," Elena shook her head, looking up when she heard the door open "Anna? What are you doing here? Where's Jeremy?"

"Jeremy won't be coming here anytime soon," the vampire told the Doppelgänger "I'm just going to grab some of his and Angel's stuff."

Elena blocked the stairs "What do you mean he's not going to come here anytime soon."

"I meant what I said," Anna rolled her eyes "He doesn't want to be around you and I can't blame him at all." She took a step forward "Let me through."

"No," the Doppelgänger crossed her arms "Not until you tell me why…"

Anna sneered at the other girl "You want to know why your brother hates you enough that he won't be coming home? You only have yourself to blame for that… What kind of person tries to kill her own sister? Angel could have died because of you."

"This is because of Angel?" Elena demanded "Oh, you've got to be joking… I didn't do it."

"Sure you didn't," Anna muttered, pushing past Elena to collect the stuff that she was supposed to bring back to her boyfriend.

Elena huffed and stomped down the stairs as soon as the vampire was in Jeremy's room. She pulled out her phone and dialed Bonnie's number "Hey, Bonnie," the Doppelgänger smiled, immediately starting on a rant "I just can't believe it. Have you heard that Angel accused me of pushing her down the stairs? And now Jeremy won't come home because of me… It's stupid. Why would my so-called sister lie about me pushing her?" When she didn't hear an answer, she frowned "Bonnie?"

" _Sorry, Elena,_ " the Bennett witch mumbled, glaring at the wall opposite of her bed " _I really don't think you should call me again._ "

"What?"

Bonnie sighed " _You heard me. I actually believe what Angel said and you do treat her horribly. I can't really blame Jeremy either. Please… Just… Don't call me again."_

* * *

Finn had just finished his phone call to Sage by which time I was practically sleeping on top of Nik. Just before I was about to drop off completely, the doorbell rang. Elijah got up to answer it, while Nik ran his hand up and down my arm gently.

"Miss Bennett and Miss Forbes are here," Elijah announced, walking back into the living room a couple of minutes later.

"Hey," the two girls waved awkwardly.

I sighed, blinking my heavy eyes open "Hey Care," I mumbled "What are you doing here?"

"Well, well, well," Kol spoke up with a smirk, staring at Bonnie intently "And who might you be?"

"Leave her alone," I sighed "Bonnie. How are you?"

The young witch raised her eyebrow at me "Shouldn't I be asking you that? After all, you were the one who…"

"It's alright… I'm alright," I assured her.

"I hope you don't mind that I told Bonnie some more about everything that was going on?" Caroline grinned sheepishly.

Damon crossed his arms, glaring at the witch lightly "I thought you were firmly on Team Elena?"

"Well, so was Stefan until recently," Bonnie shot back "I know that I messed up. More than once but… I'm really, honestly sorry about everything, Angel."

"Bonnie," I spoke up, cutting her off when she was about to say more "You thought you were doing the right thing. It's alright. You mostly ignored me and that's way better than what Elena ever did. Don't worry so much about it. Just give me a little to actually get used to it and you're forgiven…" I let out a huge yawn "Can I go to sleep now? 'M tired."

Nik laughed lightly and pressed a kiss to my forehead "Sleep. I'll wake you up for dinner."

"Thanks," I breathed, burying my hand in Hero's fur like I had done every day since the attack.

* * *

That night, Bonnie shot up in bed, sweating as if waking from a nightmare. The only problem was that she wasn't really awake… She stumbled downstairs and continued in random directions until she reached the Lockwood's cellar.

"Bonnie," a voice called to her from further inside "Bonnie… I need your help." The young witch stumbled further until she came to a coffin…

Her mother stepped out from the shadows "We've been waiting for you. Come here."

Bonnie's eyes were glazed over, her mind still asleep. She wandered over, linking her hands with her mother's.


	44. The Original Witch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back. Just like I promised... Sorry that it's been a bit over a month but on another note. I'm done with my apprenticeship now, so yay me, right?
> 
> A little note to this chapter... Please don't kill me after reading this. I promise things aren't as they seem.
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Nick

"So, wait," Kol blinked in surprise "You mean that you're really from another world where witches are different? Like wand-waving with brooms and funny hats?"

I nodded, leaning against Nik's side. Kol had been asking a lot of questions about how my magic was different from the one he had before. Questions that I really didn't know how to answer properly "Yes. I told you that about a hundred times already," I pointed out with a small grin "It's not my fault that you don't believe me."

"Yes, yes," he grumbled, crossing his arms petulantly. The pouting only lasted a minute though before he sat up, an eager look on his face "Didn't you say that you can turn into an animal?"

"I can, yeah," I murmured "Although I probably shouldn't transform just yet. Not until I'm completely healed… Back injuries aren't the best thing to have as a wolf."

Kol sighed in disappointment "Can you at least show me something?"

Rebekah threw a pillow at her brother's head "Don't be an ass, Kol. She'll show you in her own time. What I want to know is when we're going to talk about what that wench of a Doppelgänger did to you." She smirked at the red-haired girl "I could kill her for you?"

"Rebekah," Elijah sighed, glancing at me cautiously. He knew that I was conflicted about what to do with Elena, especially since she was stubborn, telling everyone that it was an accident and that I tripped over something.

I smiled lightly "It's alright, Elijah. Bekah, I don't know. I really don't… She tried to kill me and I have no idea what to think about that. If you really want to kill her though, I won't be stopping anyone."

It was then that the doorbell rang. There was a moment of silence before Elijah got up to answer the door. Everyone who normally visited knew to just walk in. The silence in the room got slightly more uncomfortable as the vampires listened to something that was out of my hearing range. Nik's arm tightened around my waist "Let's get you upstairs."

"What's going on?" I frowned, wrapping my arms around his neck once he lifted me from the couch "Nik?"

He shook his head "Mother is here."

I froze "Your mother? As in the bitch who kept your wolf side from you?"

"Yes," he answered shortly before he sighed "I'm sorry, I'm being an ass. How about you paint a bit? I'll be back in a bit."

"It's fine," I smiled "From what you've told me, I don't mind you stashing me up here. Just – I don't know why she's here but… Are you sure that you can trust her?"

Nik wrapped his arms around my back from behind, pressing a small kiss to the side of my head "I don't know, little Red. I really don't know."

I turned my head, pecking his cheek before turning to the cupboard that held all of our art supplies "Be careful."

"I will," he hummed, his hand trailing over my shoulders before he left the room.

A while later, I was splattered in paint, more relaxed than I had been in a long time. I never knew how much I needed to paint before… It's been way too long since I had the time to create a new painting.

A knock at the door made me look up "I heard that Niklaus had a girlfriend. I didn't expect it to be true though," the blonde woman smiled. I tilted my head, a faint feeling of darkness washing over me. It was almost nonexistent, so I wasn't sure whether I was just imagining it or not "Your name is Angel? How old are you?"

"Yes, my name is Angel," I gave back, a bit reluctantly. The closer she got, the more the feeling intensified "Where's Nik?"

Esther tilted her head "He is out. He told me that he had to grab something for the Ball."

"Ball?" I couldn't help but ask "What Ball?"

"I want my family back, to introduce us to this… quaint town," she said "It's going to be tomorrow evening." I turned my attention back to my painting. Tomorrow was my birthday… I would finally turn eighteen. A part of me was grateful. Being eighteen was better than being seventeen. Since this wasn't the Wizarding World, you actually had to be eighteen before you were seen as an adult "You like to paint?"

"Yeah," I nodded, a small smile crossing my face "That's how I met Nik, actually. At an art show in New York."

The Original Witch hummed "That does sound like Niklaus. Always the artist."

"What are you doing here, mother?" Nik glared, coming into the room.

"I wanted to meet the girl who tamed my son," she replied with a tilted head "Am I not allowed to move freely?"

Nik stiffened. He looked ready to kill his mother – again but I put my hand on his arm "It's alright, Nik," I told him quietly "We just talked." Under my breath, I added "Well, she did most of the talking…"

"Fine," he huffed "Come on, little Red. I have a surprise for you in our room."

"I take it, it has something to do with the Ball your mother mentioned?" I guessed, leaning against my boyfriend's side. My movements were still a bit stiff and I got the occasional pain in my back but other than that, I was mostly healed from my spill down the stairs.

That evening, I was lying in bed with Nik climbing in on the other side "Today was an eventful day," he murmured, pulling me closer to his side.

"Definitely," I agreed, remembering Elena's tantrum. She had practically admitted to everything in front of multiple people. She came in, ranting that no one wanted to talk to her anymore and that it was all my fault for getting hurt.

Nik buried his face in my hair and got more comfortable "Are you ready for tomorrow?"

"The Ball?" I questioned, already on my way to falling asleep.

"I was talking about your birthday actually. It's not everyday one turns eighteen," the Hybrid pointed out.

I hummed "Never really been into birthdays much. But I guess that I'm a little excited."

"I love you, Angel."

"Love you too," I whispered, closing my eyes "Goodnight."

Nik smiled "Goodnight, little Red."

_Dream_

_Angel was standing in a familiar room in the mansion. Wasn't this one of the empty studies on the first floor? Why was she here?_

_"Did you really think no one would notice?" Kol questioned, his voice dripping in disdain "What were you planning?"_

_There seemed to be another person in the room with the youngest male Mikaelson but Angel couldn't see. There was someone behind her but every time she tried to turn around, she just found herself facing Kol._

_"I won't let you do this," the Original spoke up, clenching the parchment in his hand. With one swift movement, he ripped it and threw it onto the floor along with the vial of blood he had been holding. The vampire knew exactly what his mother had planned as soon as he had seen the blood. He wouldn't let her hurt his siblings. They had just gotten back together and he would do everything to keep the peace between them. If Kol was honest with himself, he had missed his siblings, even boring Finn who didn't seem quite as boring as he remembered._

_Angel cried out when the scene skipped and suddenly, there was a stake coming out of Kol's chest. It burst into flames, making the vampire scream in pain. He was burning and the longer it went on, the more he sagged until he dropped to the ground, stilling._

_End Dream_

"Angel, wake up," Nik called out, shaking my shoulders carefully "Come on."

I blinked tiredly before I remembered the dream, shooting up on the bed. It had seemed so real. I threw the covers to the side, stumbling from the room. When I reached the study, my hands were shaking. I looked up at Nik with tears in my eyes and pushed the door open "No," I breathed, seeing the charred body on the floor "Kol…"

* * *

 

The morning after the Original's mother came back were hectic, to say the least. People were rushing around, trying to decorate the mansion. The inhabitants of the house were quiet though. Since they found Kol last night… They didn't really feel much like celebrating after just losing one of their own.

Angel was curled up on the couch, a cup of tea in her hands, while Klaus and Elijah were pacing up and down, trying to come up with a solution. While Angel had dreamed of the incident, she hadn't seen the person who stabbed their younger brother. There weren't many people who could have come into their home without setting off the alarm bells. All the clues pointed to a person they knew and trusted to be around them… There was also the matter of the bloody parchment they found. It was half burnt under Kol's remains but some of the words were still visible.

"I can't believe that mother would do something like this," Rebekah spoke up, staring at the pieces of the spell.

Klaus crossed his arms, raising his eyebrows at his sister "Have you already forgotten that she tried to kill us once before? What makes you think that she wouldn't try again?"

"It just doesn't seem like her style," Finn pointed out, his arm around Sage. The two hadn't parted since the redhead arrived a few hours after Esther did "What would she get from killing Kol?"

"He surprised her," Angel murmured, staring into her cup "Kol found the spell and the blood. I don't know… I think he recognized it. I didn't see much but… He tried to destroy everything he found before he was staked."

By the end of her explanation, Nik had sat down on the couch next to his girlfriend, pulling her into his arms "I'm so sorry that you had to see this," he murmured "Especially today."

Angel wiped at her eyes and shrugged "Well, there are two days that I always expect to turn out a disaster. Halloween and my birthday."

"We will find out what happened," Elijah vowed.

"What happened to who?" Bonnie questioned, walking into the room "You called?"

Angel fought to get up, handing her cup to Klaus "Something happened last night. Kol – He…"

"Angel? What happened?"

"I don't know," the red-haired girl murmured "I had a dream of him dying and when I woke up… He was gone."

The dark-skinned girl let out a shaky breath as the words registered. Over the last few days, she had spent more time around the manic Original then she had anyone else. He had started to teach her about magic, making her stronger "Who would…?"

"We have a suspicion," Elijah sighed and walked over to lead the witch towards the bowl with the remains of the parchment "We found this with him. Maybe you recognize this?"

Bonnie looked up at the older Original and then back down at the bowl. She really wanted to get this over with. Finding out that Kol was dead… It did hit her, even though she wasn't sure why it affected her quite as badly as it did "It's clearly a spell. The blood is also an indicator," she mumbled "I can't tell you what it was exactly but for me it looks like someone tried to bind something. Blood is a common way to achieve a bond of some sort. There's not enough left to tell you what exactly the plan was though…"

The suited Original nodded, the puzzle pieces falling into place in his mind "It's quite alright, Miss Bennett. Thank you for the assistance."

"It's alright," the young witch waved off "And… I'm sorry for your brother."

* * *

 

I was standing next to Nik in the dress that he chose. The upper part of it was a lace part with long sleeves, while the skirt part of the dress fanned out in a stunning navy blue. Nik held out his arm for me to take "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll be," I muttered, following him down the staircase carefully. Normally, I didn't like dresses that covered my feet because I was way too clumsy in them. I was always scared of tripping over the hem.

"Angel," Damon smiled, coming up to us at the bottom of the stairs.

I walked into his arms without hesitation "Hey."

"I heard about what happened," he whispered quietly, looking up at Rebekah with a sympathetic gaze "I can't imagine if anything were to happen to Stefan…" He glanced over his shoulder, looking to where I could see Stefan talking to Caroline. The two of them seemed to be in a pretty intense conversation. They didn't even blink when Care's mother walked past them.

Rebekah closed her eyes for a moment "Let's – Let's not talk about it."

"Your wish is my command, my lady," the younger vampire bowed, holding out his hand "Mind if I steal you?"

"By all means," the blonde Original nodded, slipping her hand into Damon's.

Once they were gone, Nik glanced in the way they left "Well, if I didn't know Damon, I probably would have hurt him for being this close to Bekah."

"Don't you think she's old enough to choose who she goes out with?" I frowned "She could have done worse than Damon."

"I suppose so," Nik agreed, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.

We walked around the foyer, sometimes stopping to talk to certain people before Elijah cleared his throat on top of the staircase "If everyone could gather, please."

Nik pressed a quick kiss to my lips, leaving me with Damon who had just appeared after Rebekah joined her older brother "I'll be right back, love."

Once the four siblings were standing on the staircase around Elijah, he addressed the people in the room "Welcome," he nodded, hiding his discomfort at the situation. Had Esther not insisted on having this Ball, they would have spent the rest of the night and maybe the next mourning for their lost brother "Thank you for joining us. You know, whenever my mother brings our family together like this, it's tradition for us to commence the evening with a dance." Elijah's gaze wandered to his mother who was standing on the landing to the first floor "Today's pick is a centuries-old waltz, so if all of you could please find yourselves a partner, please join us in the ballroom."

"Angel?" a voice sounded from behind me. It was a voice that I hoped never to hear again.

I turned around to face her "What do you want, Elena? Throw me down another staircase?"

The girl across from me shifted uneasily. She glanced around at all of the people, checking to see whether they were listening "I wanted to apologize for what I did," she murmured with reluctance in her voice.

"No, you didn't," I noted, raising my eyebrow at her "Look, I don't care what you do… Just stay away from me."

Elena grabbed my wrist when I was about to walk past her "Will you just listen to me?" she exclaimed "No one is talking to me anymore. Can you just tell them that I apologized?"

I snorted, shaking my head at her incredulously "Are you kidding? I have nothing to do with them not talking to you. It was your own actions that pushed them away."

"There's no way that they actually like you though. I mean, why would they?" my so-called sister hissed, putting her face close to mine "They're just being difficult. You'll see."

I shook my head "If that's what you want to think… Just – Stay out of my life. I tolerated your shit for way too long already. You're not my sister, you've never been." With those words, I jerked my arm out of her hand and walked out of the glass doors to the gardens. What surprised me though, was the beautiful white horse that was standing a little way into the garden, munching on the grass.

After a few minutes of me petting the horse, I heard footsteps coming closer "Are you alright, little Res?" Nik questioned, his face filled with worry "I wanted to come when I saw Elena talking to you but Elijah stopped me."

"It's fine, Nik," I told him quietly "She didn't hurt me, so it's alright."

"If you're sure," he murmured, not sounding convinced "I take it, you like horses then?"

I raised my hand, touching the mare's head gently "She's beautiful, Nik. Although I'm not really sure why you have a horse here."

While I was petting the animal, I could hear my boyfriend's nervous movements. Why was he nervous? He shifted a little and then did something unexpected. Nik grabbed a hold of my hands, turning me to face him "Angel… I know that we haven't been together for long but – I love you. You make me feel like no one ever did before." With that, he sank down to the ground "Will you marry me?"

I gaped at him with wide eyes. This was the last thing I expected to happen. I was staring down at him, a smile stealing its way onto my face "Yes," I nodded breathlessly "Yes."

Nik surged up, pressing his lips to mine, twirling me around happily "Oh, and happy birthday." He pulled out a beautiful ring. It was a woven silver with diamonds and emeralds lining one side of the braid. The Hybrid grabbed my hand as a strange feeling washed over me. He was about to slip the ring onto my finger when my vision flashed gold for a moment.

I slumped into him, blinking heavily. There was something… something going on further into the gardens "I –" I broke off, shaking my head. Without meaning to, I half ran half stumbled towards the pull I was feeling.

"Angel? What's going on?" Nik questioned, following me.

"I don't know," I breathed. When I reached the place, there was a golden light spreading out over the grass. It grew brighter and brighter until I had to turn my head away. After a few minutes, the light receded. I gasped in shock when I saw what – or rather who was revealed "How?"

Nik made a noise at the back of his throat "That's what I would like to know."

"I can explain?" the person offered sheepishly, rocking back on his heels.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll try to post the next chapter tomorrow. I don't have it written up yet but I'll try to do so today.
> 
> Nick


	45. Mistress of Death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the next chapter.
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Nick

 

_Kol groaned in pain, looking around "Shouldn't I be dead?" he asked himself. Where the hell was he? There was a seriously creepy looking forest behind him and a huge castle up ahead. All in all, not what he would have expected from the Other Side._

" _You should be but you aren't," an ominous voice whispered from behind the Original._

_The vampire flinched and whirled around, ready to fight whoever was standing behind him. It was a black cloaked figure that was a little bit taller than him "Who are you?"_

" _I'm Death," the figure hummed "I apologize for killing you… It wasn't my intention but I had to talk to you."_

_Kol tilted his head in confusion "What the bloody hell do you mean? You didn't kill me."_

" _I did. Indirectly," Death shrugged "But that doesn't matter. There is something we have to talk about." He gestured towards the castle "Let's take a walk."_

" _Speaking of a walk," the Original pointed out "What the bloody hell is this place?"_

_Death looked around "Hogwarts."_

" _As in the school Angel went to?" the vampire frowned in confusion._

" _Ah, now here is the question of the hour," the cloaked figure nodded, starting up the path._

_Kol stared after him… it?… for a moment before he quickly followed "This has something to do with Angel?"_

" _In a matter of speaking, yes," Death agreed "The story is this…" Kol listened in fascination and a little bit of awe. What the entity was telling him sounded unbelievable… More than that. Even for a vampire, the story was a little hard to believe._

* * *

When the light receded, Kol could see Angel staring at him with wide eyes "How?"

Nik made a noise at the back of his throat "That's what I would like to know."

"I can explain?" the formerly dead Original offered sheepishly, rocking back on his heels. Before anything else could happen, the younger of the two brothers found himself tackled into a hug by his brother's girlfriend. His eyes locked onto Klaus' figure as the Hybrid slowly came closer. When Angel let go, Kol found himself in another hug. Before he could do so much as react, Klaus had pulled back, with a last pat to the younger Mikaelson's back.

"Maybe we should take this inside?" Angel questioned. She quickly tried to get rid of the tears that were streaming down her cheeks "I'm sure the others want to see you as well."

Kol shook his head "Not quite yet. There's something I have to tell you. Something that will change everything."

The red-haired girl raised her eyebrow "Even more than someone coming back from the dead? I saw you die…"

"He didn't tell me that," the younger Original remarked, his eyes flashing in annoyance "Okay, Angel… What do you know about the Deathly Hallows?"

"The what now?" Angel frowned "Aren't they part of the book series that was about my male counterpart?"

Kol ran a hand through his hair "I think so? I never finished the series but… Here." He pulled out some items that Death gave him earlier.

"That's my cloak," Angel breathed "I got this in my First Year. Kol? Where did you get this?"

"Death," he shrugged, ignoring his brother's incredulous looks "We had a very interesting conversation. Before we go any further though. Angel, have you ever seen this symbol?" Kol turned the ring in his hand, showing the girl the mark of the Hallows. From the way she paled, he assumed that it was familiar to her "I'll take that as a yes."

"H – How?" she blinked, shaking her head. Her gaze turned to Klaus "After that dream I had… I found this." Angel tugged her right sleeve up, revealing the mark of the Hallows on the skin of her wrist "I didn't know what it meant… I still don't actually."

Kol walked forward, placing his hands on the younger girl's shoulders "This symbol means that you are destined to be the Mistress of Death. The story goes that only someone who gathers three items given by Death would get the title of Master of Death but… According to him, that's bullshit. You were chosen by Death and Fate, Angel. I was supposed to be your protector, your teacher but something stopped Death from being able to reach me, so he took action." He paused for a moment and grimaced "Still a little mad about the dying part but at least I'm alive now."

"Speaking of," Klaus cut in. He had stayed quiet until now, the conversation too fantastical to be true. But it seemed to be important to Kol, so he held back "We worked out that mother killed you. Why?"

"She was planning on killing all of us, Nik," Kol exclaimed, mistaking his brother's tone for disbelief "I found the set up for the spell. Don't ask me how but it seems like she got the Doppelgänger's blood… If I hadn't stopped her…"

Klaus took a deep breath "Why am I not surprised that Elena had her hand in this?" he asked his fiancee.

"This is what I plan on finding out," Angel grumbled, making plans to go back home. She had made these plans before wanting to talk to Elena just because Uncle John and Jeremy were moving back to Denver in a few days and that would be the last time she'd see them in a while.

The Hybrid shrugged, making a mental note to join her tomorrow. He clenched his hand at the thought of something happening to her when a small pinch made him frown "I forgot," he mumbled, holding the ring between two of his fingers. With one quick motion, he slipped it onto Angel's right hand "You're stuck with me now, you know."

"You forget that I already said yet," Angel pointed out with an amused grin.

Kol shuddered "Can you two not be… you for a moment? Angel… Come here for a moment." He wrapped the cloak around the girl's shoulders, handing her the ring which she slipped onto her left forefinger before grabbing the wand off him.

As soon as all the Hallows were in contact with Angel's body, she gasped, sinking to the ground. It felt like her nerves were on fire as magic surged through her veins. She blinked rapidly, rubbing at her head. Was it just her or did she know more now? "What was that?" she panted, glaring up at Kol.

The younger Original shrugged sheepishly "I forgot, sorry. That was information upload that Death gave you. No clue what it entails though. That's for you and only you."

* * *

Another hour later, the three went back inside. Most of the guests had already left, so the only people who were left were people who either knew that Kol had died and some drunks who didn't notice anything around them.

Rebekah was the first one who spotted them and let out a small scream, tears already in her eyes "Kol?" Within the blink of an eye, she had her arms wrapped around her not-so-dead brother.

"Hello, Bex. Did you miss me?" Kol questioned with a small smirk.

The blonde pulled back, hitting him in the stomach harshly "You idiot."

"Ouch?" he muttered, holding his now sore stomach "Was that necessary?"

"Yes," Rebekah declared with a sniff, hiding in Damon's embrace.

Elijah and Finn were the next to come closer. The oldest two were a bit hesitant. They had seen their youngest brother's remains "How are you here?" Finn questioned, reaching out a hand to place on Kol's shoulder. It was to show Kol that he was happy to see him but also to make sure that the other Original really was there and not just a figment of his imagination "You're real…"

"Of course, I'm real," Kol grinned "What, do you think I'm haunting you?"

"Oh Lord," Elijah mumbled, raising a hand to cover his eyes.

Niklaus snorted "That is a rather horrific image, is it not?"

Suddenly, Angel's head snapped up, her eyes narrowing on the Original Witch. The blonde woman was staring at her children in horror "No," she shook her head, catching sight of Kol "You're dead. I killed you."

"It's good to see you too, mother," Kol shot back sweetly "That stake to the heart hurt."

"Did you really think it was this easy to get rid of us?" Klaus questioned, crossing his arms.

Esther scoffed "Had Kol not snooped around, the five of you would be dead already. I might not have had the Bennetts' conscious help but it was enough."

Angel took a step closer, clenching her hand around the Elder Wand. Unbeknownst to her, it was glowing faintly "What do you mean 'conscious help'?"

"All I had to do was plant some ideas, get someone to steal the coffin while you were out and here I am," Esther smirked "It would have been so easy to get rid of all the abominations in the world." The witch froze, looking horrified. She hadn't intended to tell them as much as she did "The little Doppelgänger was so eager to get rid of you. I didn't even have to try and convince her to hand over some of her blood."

"As much as I dislike her," Angel spoke up "Elena wouldn't do anything to hurt Stefan."

The Original Witch rolled her eyes "She didn't know what would happen should an Original get killed. Do you, little girl?"

"Their sirelines die with them," the red-haired girl answered without a moment of hesitation. She frowned internally. How did she know that? Was this part of the information upload she had gotten?

Klaus exhaled, glaring up at his mother angrily "I'm sick of talking. Let's get this over with."

Kol walked over to his brother's girlfriend, whispering in her ear "I need you to do something. Do you think you could manage…" The rest was too low for the other vampires to understand.

Angel's eyes widened "How do I do that?"

"Concentrate. Think about what you want to do," Kol instructed "I don't think we'll have a problem with the power you're going to put in… But if you don't concentrate it won't hold." The newly named Mistress of Death nodded, faintly remembering her Transfigurations lessons. She pictured what she wanted in her head, every nook, every detail of it and muttered the spell under her breath. Angel's eyes opened slowly, seeing Kol up on the floor where his mother had been standing just seconds ago. He glanced down at the puppet in his hand and laughed "What was this supposed to be?"

"Wicked Witch of the West," she shrugged sheepishly.

Rebekah coughed to hide her laughter "What the hell just happened?"

"Who wants to watch our mother burn?" Kol questioned, holding up the small wooden puppet.

Finn blinked. If his mother was turned into a puppet, did that mean… "Wait, does that mean that she won't…"

"Come back?" Kol finished for him "Basically. She's not on the other side and there is nothing left of her body to hold an ounce of her previous self… Rather genius actually."

Klaus wrapped his arms around his fiancee and twirled her around "Have I ever told you that you're amazing?"

"Not in the last hour, no," Angel laughed lightly, leaning into the Hybrid's strong embrace.

"Hm," he hummed "Then you're amazing."

* * *

I was on my way home for the first time since I was in the hospital. A part of me was nervous. Nervous enough for Hero to squeeze himself through the gap between the front and passenger seats "I'm so sorry," I mumbled, shaking my head at my dog's antics.

"It's alright," Elijah smiled "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"No," I mumbled "But I feel like I have to…"

The Original shook his head "They could have come to the mansion."

"I know," I sighed "But I feel like I need to talk to Elena. I want to know why she would be so ready to kill an entire race." With that I ran my hand through Hero's fur, my thoughts drifting. It had been a bit of a fight over who would accompany me earlier.

_Flashback_

_I got ready to head to say goodbye to Jeremy. Hero who had spent most of the last few days either curled up with me or running around the garden was waiting patiently for me to be done._

" _Are you ready to go, love?" Nik questioned, seeing me put on my jacket._

_It was then that Elijah entered the room "I don't think it's a good idea for you to go with her, Niklaus."_

" _What?" the Hybrid questioned, his voice angry._

" _Can you tell me honestly that you are able to stop yourself from killing the Doppelgänger when she opens that mouth of hers?" the suited Original challenged "You would have killed her yesterday, had I not stopped you."_

_The next words were too low for me to hear but they seemed to make an impact in Nik's demeanour "Fine," he sighed and turned to look at me "But I don't want you to go alone."_

_Elijah inclined his head "If you don't mind me coming along, Angel?"_

" _Not at all," I shook my head "She's not going to do anything though. My family is going to be there too."_

" _Still," Nik murmured "I want you safe."_

_End Flashback_

"We're here," Elijah's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I blinked a few times before getting out of the car with Hero jumping after me. He immediately ran to the door. I guess he missed home as much as I did. Don't get me wrong. The mansion was amazing but this was where I grew up. This house had memories, both good and bad.

"Angel," Jenna exclaimed, rushing to pull me into a hug after I unlocked the door "Hello, Elijah. I would have expected Klaus to be here?"

I hid my face in her shoulder "Hey, Aunt Jenna," I mumbled into her shoulder.

"My brother wanted to come," Elijah replied "I thought it would be better for him to stay at the mansion."

Realization dawned on her face before she nodded "Come on," she gestured "The others are in the kitchen."

"Actually," I hedged "There's something I need to get from my room first. I wanted to give it to Jeremy before but I forgot."

"Alright," Jenna shrugged "Just don't get lost in any journal or whatever else you got up there."

I huffed jokingly "I do not get lost in…" I broke off at the look she was giving me "Okay, fair point. I'll hurry up." Once I was up the stairs, I immediately went to my room, to look for the diary I had. On the advice of Dr Killian, I had written down almost everything that happened during my first childhood. The funny thing was that it almost read like a book. I left some of the more scarring parts out but all in all the diary detailed my adventures up till I was fourteen and ended up here.

"What are you doing here?" Elena demanded.

I turned my head to look at her "This is my home."

"So now you remember? Did that beast of yours throw you out already? Didn't last long, did it?" she goaded.

My eyes narrowed on her and I shook my head "Does that make you feel better? Constantly trying to put me down?" I pushed past her, the diary in hand.

Elena followed me to the stairs "You're pathetic," she hissed.

I flinched at the words, memories coming to the forefront of my mind. Memories that I wished to never remember…

_Flashback_

_My sister grabbed my arm when I was on the landing of the stairs "It is my business. Don't you think I should know that my own sister is shagging up with the bastard who drained me?"_

_I whirled around "First of all, he's not a bastard. And since when am I your sister? You prefer to pretend that we're not even close. Also, you're alive. I understand that it wasn't ideal and I'm sorry that you had to go through that. I really am but Nik has been waiting for over a thousand years…"_

_"Listen to me, Angel," Elena started, sounding really patronizing "Klaus is dangerous. He only used you to get close to me…"_

_"Oh, how pathetic are you?" I spat "The world doesn't revolve around you, Elena."_

_Elena sneered "No? Well, you should get off your high horse because you're still that pathetic little girl who couldn't even step outside of the house without having a panic attack. You might think you are better than me but you're not. You are pathetic, Angel and I can't wait to see everyone abandoning you once they realize how useless you are."_

_"You're the one who should get off that high horse," I pointed out "After all, you're the reason all of those people are coming after us." My sister glared at me, shoving past me. When she did, I lost my balance, tumbling head first down the stairs. I think I hit my head several times on the steps because the last thing I saw was Elena smirking triumphantly. The last thing I heard was growling and low curses before everything went black._

_End Flashback_

"You really did push me," I breathed in shock. Knowing and actually seeing it were two different things completely "What was your plan, huh?"

Elena scoffed "To be completely honest with you, I kinda hoped that you would have died." The words were said once we hit the bottom of the staircase "I could have passed it off as an accident but no, your stupid mutts had to ruin everything."

"Good to know how you feel about me," I told her, tears filling my eyes. It wasn't the fact that she didn't like me… It was the fact that she actually tried to kill me, paired with the fact that I remembered everything now.

"How could you?" Jenna shouted, storming out of the kitchen.

Elena flinched, seeing the rest of our family along with Elijah standing behind our aunt "A – Aunt Jenna? What are you all doing here?"

"We wanted to pick up the rest of Jeremy's things," John pointed out "We didn't want to disturb you…"

Jeremy turned to face our aunt and uncle with a raised eyebrow "Do you believe it now?"

"It's hard not to," Jenna mumbled guiltily "Angel… I'm –"

"Don't," I shook my head "You don't have to apologise."

It was then that Elijah stepped forward "I want to know one thing… Just one thing," he spoke up, looking into my sister's eyes "Why would you try to kill your own sister?"

"She's not my sister," Elena answered immediately.

My eyes went to her neck and I frowned "What happened to her Vervain necklace?"

"How can you say that?" Jeremy burst out "Angel might not be blood family but she is part of it. If anyone lost their right to this family it's you, Elena."

The brunette swallowed "W – What do you mean?"

"If you can't see Angel as your sister then you're not mine," the youngest Gilbert stated.

"I believe it's better if you go back to your room, Elena," John pointed out "We'll be talking about this later. Understood?" Elena nodded, practically running back up the stairs.

I sank down on the couch, hiding my face in my hands "This visit got me more than I expected," I chuckled sadly.

Jay wrapped his arms around me "It's going to be alright, Tiny. You'll see."

"I think you might be right," I nodded, glancing down at the ring on my finger.

Jenna followed my gaze and gasped "Really? When?"

"When what?" John frowned in confusion.

Pearl rolled her eyes playfully "Men… She had a ring on her finger."

"Last night," I admitted "At the ball."

Jeremy studied the ring closely and hummed "I expect an invitation."

"As if I would get married without inviting you," I laughed "I'll miss you, Jay."

"I'll miss you too," my younger brother whispered "We'll keep in touch, alright?"

I nodded "I'll hold you to that." It was then that I remembered the book that I was still holding "Oh, right. Here… I want you to have this."

Jeremy's eyes widened "Is that…?"

"The book that holds my first life?" I finished for him "Yup."

"I can't take this," he shook his head.

I wrapped my hands around his, making him hold onto the book "You loved these stories. I want you to have them. I remember everything I wrote in there… I don't need it."

"Thank you," Jay breathed, throwing his arms around me exuberantly "I promise I'll take care of it."

"That's all I ask," I smiled, untangling us to say goodbye to Uncle John "Bye, Uncle John."

The older man hugged me tightly "I'm glad that you're happy, Angel. You deserve it."

"I think I may be starting to believe that myself," I told him before moving on to Anna and Pearl "You take care of them for me?"

"Always," Anna grinned, fist bumping me.

Pearl, on the other hand, squeezed my shoulders gently "I am glad that you are back to normal. Your uncle finally stopped being a grump."

I choked on a laugh, glancing at Uncle John "I can believe that."

"Why, you brat," he gasped, raising his hand to his heart "That hurt. Deeply."

Jenna snorted, shoving his shoulder "It's the truth and you know it."

I stepped back to Elijah's side and nodded at them again "I'll see you soon, yeah?"

"You can count on that," Jeremy and Uncle John chorused.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last full chapter. It's only the Epilogue left and then the Sequel will pick up where this left off.
> 
> Nick


	46. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaah! This is finally over and done with. I'm honestly a bit relieved since this was my longest story so far (I think) and it was also one that turned out... Meh. I'm not a hundred percent happy with how it did turn out but it's fine. I could have done way worse xD
> 
> I've reached my goal of 1500 Reviews for this story, so thank you all very much!
> 
> As you can see at the end, I kind of put up glaring signs of the sequel. I won't write it quite yet (sorry about that) but I think that other ideas will come first. Maybe some shorter stories or whatever I feel like writing. Who knows, maybe I feel like writing the sequel... Since it's already planned out.
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> Nick

 

Jeremy strode into the meeting room with purpose. In the last few months, he had been getting constant calls from his older sister. Ever since Elena had been convicted for pushing Angel down the stairs, she tried getting in contact with him. While he had no idea why he didn't care much either way.

"Jeremy," Elena called out in relief, standing from her place on the other side of the glass.

The youngest Gilbert sat down in the chair, crossing his arms. The room was different from the ones you saw in movies… The glass was pretty thick but there were holes in it, so the people could hear each other "I'm here. What do you want?"

"Please," the now nineteen-year-old pleaded "You have to tell them that it was a mistake. I didn't mean to hurt Angel."

"You pushed her down the stairs, Elena. You even admitted it. I heard," he pointed out, an incredulous look on his face "So you know as well as I do that it wasn't an accident." Elena slumped in the chair, tears welling up in her eyes. Jeremy just shook his head "Stop trying to get in contact with me, will you? I only came here because Anna told me that I should hear you out. I did… Now, please. Just don't call anymore." He got up and turned around to leave.

Elena jumped up "No, Jeremy. Please… Don't leave."

"You did this to yourself," he shot back "Maybe once you're actually sorry for what you did. Do you even care that you could have killed Angel? If Damon hadn't arrived when he did, she would have been dead."

"I'm sorry," she breathed when the door closed behind her younger brother. A sob forced its way out of her throat. How could her life have changed this much? Elena closed her eyes tightly, burying her face in her hands. This was all Angel's fault.

* * *

At the Mikaelson Mansion, Bonnie was grinning at her boyfriend. It still felt weird to say that… Boyfriend. Kol had asked her to be his girlfriend a few days ago after they had a picnic close to the Falls. It had been perfect and Bonnie couldn't deny how much she loved the Original. Angel helped her a lot, their friendship had blossomed after Bonnie apologized. Currently, the girl was away with Niklaus on their honeymoon. It was well deserved after everything that happened in the last few months. First Elena and then Esther trying to kill all of them – Her actually succeeding in killing Kol…

Her feeling for the youngest male Mikaelson started when Kol and her got together to talk about magic, what she knew and what he learned over the course of his life. She loved learning about all the magic he was teaching her. At first, she thought that she only liked Kol as a friend but after he died… When he died, it was the worst thing that could have happened. It didn't even matter that he came back to life pretty soon afterwards. The few hours that he was gone, she was a wreck. There were so many things that she never told him, that she should have told him.

"What are you thinking about, darling?" Kol questioned, wrapping his arm around the little witch's shoulder.

Bonnie sighed, relaxing into him. She sniffled lightly, her eyes filling up with tears "I was thinking about the time you died. About all the things I wanted to tell you then and it was too late."

"It's alright," the second youngest Original murmured into Bonnie's hair "I'm here. I'm alive." He paused and hummed "Well, more or less."

The witch let out a snort "I love you, Kol."

"I love you too, little witch," Kol whispered, pressing a kiss to his witch's forehead.

* * *

_Dream_

_Angel shivered against the wind that was whipping around her. She tried to see through the darkness that was surrounding her, to no avail._

" _Angel Potter," a voice breathed._

_The red-haired girl tilted her head in confusion. Did she really hear a voice? "Who's there?" She stumbled around, towards a tiny source of light that she could see in the distance. Maybe she could find shelter there._

" _Angel Potter."_

_Angel flinched when she felt a faint touch on her arm. Where was she? What was going on here? She got closer to the light. Closer and closer until she had to squint against the brightness. A glance back showed the all-encompassing darkness she had found herself in earlier._

" _Angel Potter." The voice was cleared now. She blinked her eyes open and looked around in surprise. What was she doing in Hogwarts? The girl was standing on the grounds near the Forbidden Forest, looking out towards the castle. A cloaked figure was striding towards her "Mistress."_

" _Death?" Angel whispered in shock. She never thought that she would meet the entity. The title of Mistress of Death was not one that she necessarily wanted but once Kol came back as her protector… Well, she didn't really have much of a choice there._

_The cloaked figure bowed its head "You must go back," Death said in a breathy voice. Even as close as they were, the voice was frail but at the same time the strongest that she ever heard. It was a weird mixture of young and old._

" _Back?" the Mistress of Death inhaled in shock "I don't want to go back there… I finally found a place where people love me. Why do I have to go back there?"_

" _I'm sorry, little one," Death intoned mournfully "I'm afraid it's fated for you to fight."_

_Angel shook her head, stumbling back "No."_

_Death sighed "You don't have to go alone. I will transport you and whoever you wish to your universe until your task is done. Then you may choose what you wish to do. I must go now. Be prepared, Angel Potter."_

_End Dream_

I shot up in the bed I was sharing with Niklaus, breathing heavily. It was a dream… Just a dream. Everything was alright.

"Angel?" Nik mumbled, still half asleep "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Nik," I shook my head "Go back to sleep."

He must have heard something in my voice, causing him to sit up, rubbing the sleep out of his voice "It doesn't sound like nothing."

"I – I had a dream about Death," I whispered, burying myself into my husband's arms "He said that I have to return. I don't want to go back, Nik. It was horrible there."

Nik stiffened, tightening his arms "We'll get through this. We always got through so far… This isn't going to be any different." The Hybrid pressed a kiss to my lips, carefully easing me back down onto the bed.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to ask you guys again to Review and tell me what you think about the story if you haven't done it already. If you've already done so and wanna tell me again, I don't mind either :D
> 
> I know I didn't write the wedding but that aling with some more explanations about the whole MoD business is going to be in the Sequel, so... Yeah.
> 
> Nick


	47. Preview of the Sequel and Information

**Alrighty guys. This won't be the note to say that the Sequel is up YET but I have a little Preview of the Prologue.**

**The title of the story is going to be** **Leaving the Past Behind** **. Anyway, here goes.**

**Enjoy the short - very short - Preview,**

**Nick**

"We have to find Angel Potter," Hestia Jones called out.

Dumbledore nodded his head thoughtfully "Indeed. But no one has seen the girl in years."

"We can't just rely on the brat," Molly Weasley huffed, crossing her arms "She abandoned us and now the girl is hiding like a coward."

Sirius glared at her "Don't talk about my goddaughter like that. She is no coward. I'm sure there is a pretty good explanation for her disappearance."

"She's gone Dark," Hestia shrugged "Maybe she joined You-Know-Who when he came back."

* * *

It was then that Elijah cleared his throat "Is it really a good idea to let Kol and Niklaus go with you?"

"Oi?" Kol huffed, crossing his arms.

"Well, he is right," Rebekah pointed out "I doubt anyone is safe from your wrath… Angel, don't take them."

Angel looked from her husband to Kol with an amused smile "They are coming… But Elijah? If you'd be willing to try and keep them in line…?"

"Why about me?" Damon frowned "You really think I want you to go without me?"

She looked at the others "I really don't want any of you in danger… There's bound to be attempts on lives – most likely mine. And Damon, you have Rebekah. I don't know how long we'll be and it would be unfair to just go."

**Really only a little bit here. Sorry xD**

**I have set a rough estimate of when I'll post the Sequel and I'll try to have it up by the middle of March, so about two and a half to three weeks. There's something I want to finish before I start posting the Sequel, so yeah.**

**Hope that's alright with you guys.**

**Nick**


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